The civil war in Syria has been raging on since 2011 and because of the suspicion of Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad’s usage of chemical weapons against his civilians, the Obama Administration is calling for U.S. intervention against Syria.
“The U.S. is always getting into other countries business, we need to look and fix our own country,” said Fidel Avila, automotive technician major.
Because of the uproar of another possible war, Jodi Balma, American Government professor, recently held a lecture in the 1400 building on September 9 to inform students of the Syrian crisis that is dangerously escalating.
Balma wanted to inform people of how the civil war started originally as a peaceful protest that spiraled into a war where nearly 100 thousand lives were lost.
“Syria has always been viewed as an evil axis power. I honestly don’t see an end to this war, maybe not for another 10-20 years,” Balma said.
Balma then continued with military options that the U.S. could pursue, such as arming the rebels, providing military help, air strikes and even the option of doing absolutely nothing.
“The U.S. is like the world’s policemen. There might be a bigger consequence if we do nothing. I don’t know what Obama is going to do,” Balma said.
She also showed a small clip of Charlie Rose on PBS interviewing President Assad, where Assad mentioned anything could happen if the U.S. got involved and to remember September 11.
“It’s important for many students to become aware of the situation and to hopefully become united to get through it,” said Fullerton College President Rajen Vurdien.
Balma also expressed her hopes that the American spirit will be prompted to help Syrian refugees who are unable to return home and are being murdered every day.
“Many students are unaware of the situation and we can never really know what is going on. We only have what the government and media tells us,” said A.S. Vice President Joey Victor.
Balma concluded by reminding students, “people tend to forget that these refugees are real people. Real human beings who are unfortunate to be born in Syria and who are our collateral damage for our decisions.”