Reflection #5

During my usual morning stroll to Megabytes to get some coffee and a bagel, I found quite an interesting and in my opinion significant article by David Sanger on the front page of the New York times.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/15/world/middleeast/jihadists-receiving-most-arms-sent-to-syrian-rebels.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

This particular article outlines how the U.S. claims much of the weaponry that is sent from Qatar to "Syrian rebels" is actually going to the more hardline Islamic groups, not the "more secular opposition groups" within the Syria conflict (Sanger). This, according to the New York times, may be creating future conflict for after either the opposition or the Assad Regime falls (Sanger). There have even been (non conclusive) reports of the radical Syrian Islamist groups buying a capacious amount of weapons from their donor countries and burying them underground for use in future conflict (Sanger).

This may show that there is an increasing radical element within Syrian society which may later serve to further destabilize any rebuilding efforts after the civil war is over. If these radical Islamic organizations obtain more power through Qatar and Saudi Arabia's heavy military aid, civil society may be altered and would undergo vast challenges. Social entrepreneurship initiatives by some of the secular parts of Syrian civil society will face significant obstacles, including a heavy amount of opposition and violence by radical Islamists. This could certainly create an immense amount of conflict even after either Assad or the opposition falls. There may need to be significant change in how social movements in Syria influence society if the above happens and there is more conflict between the more secular and radical elements in Syrian society. A quicker and more blatant revolutionary stance may again be taken by the secular Syrian social movements. Evolutionary social movements in my opinion would be much too slow in a society where violence between two very polarized groups are warring with each other.

Any thoughts on what will happen with civil society if another conflict breaks out in Syria after the civil war ends?