For the Record: All news involving Syria is horrible
Syria is back in the news, and you guys, the news is not good.
Let’s take a break from America’s regularly scheduled complaining about Donald Trump's Electoral College win to talk about some international events that could have a huge impact on our president-elect’s administration.
THE SHOT TWEETED AROUND THE WORLD
A gunman shot and killed the Russian ambassador to Turkey on Monday at a photo exhibit in Turkey’s capital. You may have seen graphic pictures or video of a gunman waving his pistol and shouting as Andrei Karlov lay dying. The gunman, dressed in a suit and tie, is believed to be an off-duty Turkish policeman.
“Don’t forget Aleppo! Don’t forget Syria!” he shouted before being killed, as reported by Turkey’s Hurriyet Daily News. “As long as our brothers are not safe, you will not enjoy safety.”
Russia said it considered the shooting an act of terrorism. The U.S. State Department condemned the attack. And within minutes, Twitter was abuzz with comparisons to the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, an event largely credited with the start of World War I.
SO, WHAT’S HAPPENING IN ALEPPO?
Syria has been fighting a brutal civil war for five years that has exacerbated ethnic tensions in the Middle East. The war has displaced more than 12 million – half the country’s prewar population – and empowered ISIS to successfully carry out attacks all over the world (more on that in a second).
Before the war, Aleppo was the country’s most populous city, a key economic hub and a strategic gateway to Turkey. The eastern part of the city had long been a base for rebel forces, and for a while, it looked like Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad might lose his grip on power because of their efforts.
Then Russia and Iran stepped in. With their support, Assad’s forces cut off food and supplies to hundreds of thousands of civilians. There were reports that scores of innocent people were being slaughtered.
Now that the city is back under Assad’s control, there’s a ceasefire and convoys have resumed to evacuate civilians after rebels set fire to buses. About 20,000 people have been evacuated so far from eastern Aleppo. Bana Alabed, the 7-year-old who tweeted what life was like in the war-torn city, is among them. (Here's how you can help other refugees.)
HOW DOES THIS AFFECT US?
U.S. forces have bombed some ISIS-controlled targets in Syria but have largely stayed out of the conflict, leaving Russia, Iran and Turkey to duke it out. Obama has long said that getting involved would require far more military intervention than Americans were willing to support -- and, in fact, Russia isn’t even negotiating with the U.S. on Syria anymore. It prefers to talk to Turkey instead (but who knows what will happen after Monday’s assassination?).
Trump said last week that he’d like to create “safe zones” in Syria – one of few details he has shared about his plan for Syria and combating ISIS. Some in Congress are pushing a bill to sanction Assad, Russia and Iran for the atrocities in Syria; many expect that bill to figure prominently in the confirmation hearings of Rex Tillerson, Trump’s secretary of State nominee.
THEN CAME AN ATTACK IN A MARKET
As if Monday wasn't scary enough, a truck deliberately slammed into a Christmas market in Berlin, killing at least 12 and injuring many others. The State Department had warned of attacks near the holidays, particularly at Christmas markets, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel has called it an "assumed terror attack." The incident evoked memories of a truck attack in Nice, France, this summer in which ISIS claimed responsibility. France launched new air strikes in Syria and Iraq after that attack.
MORE FROM THE TRANSITION
- Four Washington electors broke ranks and voted for someone other than … Hillary Clinton? Yes, you read that right (Associated Press)
- One Ohio elector resigned in a meeting filled with drama – but no one who remained broke ranks (Cincinnati Enquirer)
- Trump nominates Florida Panthers owner as top civilian overseeing the Army (Paste BN)
- Obama: I have no regrets about using my executive power, even if Trump uses the same power to undo everything I did (Paste BN)
- Bill Clinton says it was ‘bittersweet’ to vote for his wife (Democrat and Chronicle)
- A majority of Republicans wrongly think Trump won the popular vote, poll says (Paste BN)
2016: OFFICIALLY SURREAL
Surreal is Merriam-Webster’s word of the year, and it totally fits the word-search theme of 2016. Dictionary.com chose “xenophobia” based in part on what visitors searched, while Oxford gave its annual honor to “post-truth.” Merriam-Webster says searches for “surreal” spiked after multiple events this year, including the presidential election and terror attacks in Brussels and Nice.
"When we don’t believe or don’t want to believe what is real, we need a word for what seems 'above' or 'beyond' reality. 'Surreal' is such a word," the dictionary explained.