http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/09/russia-iran-unga-syria-isis-assad.html

This article from Al-Monitor was about Russian and Iranian opposition to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s proposal to create a united front against the Islamic State at a UN Security Council in September. Russia and Iran primarily worry about plans to strike IS on Syrian territory without approval from the government in Damascus. Instead of simply telling the Syrian government about missile strikes, as done in the past, Russia and Iran argue that international law dictates more explicit approval (Russia and Iran value sovereignty as a just war principle), and that not doing so may have a “destructive practical consequence”. They fear that western powers are using the IS threat as an excuse to intervene in order to impose regime change (i.e. aid rebels in the fight against IS AND the Syrian government- ultimately creating more chaos). “Russia’s ambassador to the UN for his part flatly faulted the U.S. invasion of 2003 and its support of the Syrian uprising for the current woes,”  and he also pointed out that U.S. arms provided to rebel groups ended up in the hands of IS. It is very concerning that the U.S. wants to arm unreliable rebel groups to take on IS and the Syrian government at the same time. Russia and Iran might be good examples of non-interventionists here.

http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/11/syria-rebels-arming-dangerous-extremists.html

This article was interesting because it went  further into the argument against arming the Syrian opposition (the rebel groups) and it comes from the perspective of a Syrian civilian living in Aleppo. According to this man, the fear of death and loss of loved ones daunts everyone living in Syria right now, no matter who’s side they’re on. He says no one cares anymore about who’s to blame or who “sits the throne” at the end of it all, they just want the fighting to stop. He believes that arming the rebel groups only fuels the chaos and prolongs their suffering. This made me sad because I think foreign powers hold a lot of the cards that are dealt to the Syrian people, and I believe that the U.S. in particular has made a mess of the situation. Because of this I think I take a “radical” view on globalization.