NEWS ANALYSIS
By Jason Schroeder
Lowell, MA-The sky may as well be falling in Syria.
Bombs raining down like hail. Whole families hiding under mattresses to shield themselves from airstrikes. Bombs falling on fleeing residents and refugees.
Meanwhile, bombs also fall on the American-supported rebels tasked with opposing the terrorist group ISIS and removing President Al Assad.
Among all this bombing, the American and Russian pilots find themselves in close proximity with each other. Russian and U.S forces awkward Allies in a fight against ISIS.
Yet, the two powers disagree about the future of the Al Assad regime of Syria. President Vladimir Putin supports Al Assad and sets up a military installation to support his Russian air force and ground troops.
President Barak Obama continues to support a rebel force tasked with opposing ISIS, a terrorist group with strong gains in Syria and Iraq, and also Al Assad’s regime.
Within the rebel mix, reportedly, there are Al-Qaeda, Syrian opposition rebels and likely American covert advisers. How strange for the United States to be in an informal alliance with Al-Qaeda operatives.
It seems the 4 ½ year long Civil War has the potential to become a proxy war between the U.S and Russia. Possibly even reigniting the Cold War or starting a Third World War.
Yet, Lieutenant Colonel Peter D’amico, Director of the Air Force ROTC program at LHS, considers a conflict between the U.S. and Russia unlikely.
“…I would think the people in charge would be able to maintain cool heads and find a diplomatic solution,” D’amico said.
Communication between the leadership is crucial in this situation, according to D’amico.
The Russian and American pilots who fly these bombing runs are wary of each other. Mindful of a tenuous situation, one wonders who might misfire, all the while dropping bombs on their targets below.
D’amico has dealt with International issues in the past as a U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine, a country that faces difficulty in a civil war in which Russia is supporting opposition rebels.
Still, the possibility of a scuffle between the aircraft in Syria weighs on people’s minds.
“An aerial engagement would be a sign of war,” said D’Amico about the seriousness of such an outcome.
Whoever is elected President in 2016, will have difficult foreign policy situations between Ukraine, Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and also Iran, which recently signed an agreement promising not to obtain a nuclear bomb.
“The President needs a strategy for dealing with these things.“ D’amico said about the current foreign policy situation.
One of the major issues of the Syrian Civil War is that a lot of families are being displaced.
In a CNN report on the Syrian Civil War, pictures can be seen of families hiding under mattresses from airstrikes, seeking shelter from falling debris.
Soon the cold months will come and winter will begin, due to a lack of winter clothing a lot of Syrians may die.
As a result large groups of refugees are fleeing Syria to Europe.
In Germany the refugees initially received a warm welcome. Still a host of problems have resulted from the sudden arrival of thousands.
Some countries such as Hungary and Finland have been less hospitable to the newcomers. Hungary has built a fence and sent many on toward Germany.
A group of protesters attacked a bus of refugees with rocks and fireworks in southern Finland. Other less aggressive protesters, formed a human wall on the border between Sweden and Finland.
“I think the United States has an obligation to take in its share of refugees but the rest of the world does as well,” D’amico said.
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