Legonians for Humane War

It’s no secret that the U.S. has had a rocky track record when it comes to meddling in the affairs of foreign nations.  Over the past decade the US has spent nearly 1.5 trillion dollars (National Priorities) on conducting wars abroad (much too strong public disapproval).  While I highly doubt anyone in their right mind actually approves of the way in which President Bashar al-Assad has responded to the uprising in Syria, I personally cannot condone any form of U.S. military intervention.  What I wanted to do with my Lego protestors was to provide a satirical look at the latest justification for the U.S. getting involved in Syria. 

After the revelation of Assad’s use of chemical on his own citizens, it seemed as if this was to be the preverbal straw the broke the camels back in propelling the U.S. into an armed conflict with the Syria government.  On August 21^st of 2013 (Global Post), the Syrian Army began their offensive in to the suburbs of Damascus of which resulted in the claims of the use of chemical weapons.  Though the Syrian government denied these claims, there had been reports of roughly 1,300 individuals who had been killed from the alleged chemical weapons strike (Global Post). 

To back these claims of the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian Army, there had been extremely disturbing videos posted on the internet showing medics attending to victims who looked to be suffocating and thriving in pain on hospital floors.  As tensions continued to mount over whether or not the U.S. should intervene in Syria, a U.S. Intelligence report was released in late August in which they stated that it was in “high confidence” that Syrian government was behind the attack that occurred on 21^st  of August.  The report also listed that 1,429 people were killed of which included 426 children (Global Post).  While this instance is truly despicable, it is estimated that over 100,000 people have already been killed in the Syrian conflict stemming back to 2011 (Time). 

This factor was amongst my main reasoning for draping my Lego protestors with the sign that states “Legonians for Humane War”.  It is meant to call into question why after two years watching the conflict do we finally feel compelled to physically intervene?  The three Lego characters I chose for my project are meant to represent the United States, the Syrian people, and the United Nations.  In a sense, these characters are also meant to signify the rallying support of the Syrian people in opposition to Assad’s tyrannical regime. 

Thankfully a resolution was able to be passed which called for a much more reasonable reaction to the situation.  On the 28^th of September, the United Nations Security council unanimously passed a resolution which called for the destruction of Syria’s chemical weapon supply (USA Today).  After much pressure from both the United States and the cooperation of Russia, Assad agreed to it terms and the goal is to have the all the weapons eliminated by 2014.  Though this ultimately will not solve the crisis in Syria, it is seemingly a better reaction than the alternative.   

Works Cited

"Chemical Weapons Deal Changes Syrian Equation: Our View." USA Today. Gannett, 15 Sept. 2013. Web. 06 Oct. 2013.

"COST OF NATIONAL SECURITY." National Priorities. National Priorities Project, n.d. Web. 05 Oct. 2013.

Stampler, Laura. "World Group Says Syria Death Toll." Time. Time, 01 Oct. 2013. Web. 03 Oct. 2013.

"Timeline of Events Leading up to Syria Chemical Disarmament." GlobalPost. N.p., 06 Oct. 2013. Web. 06 Oct. 2013.