Conflict in Syria: US Intervention and the Prospects for Peace

A forum on Syrian perspectives, the US role and activist response

When: Thursday, August 15, 2013, 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm
Where: First Parish Cambridge (Unitarian Universalist) • 3 Church Street • Harvard Square • Cambridge

Donation – $5 (No one turned away)

Presenters:

Marwa Alnaal

Syrian American Forum A graduate of the international relations program at Clark University, Ms. Alnaal is a Syrian American who has travelled to Syria multiple times to study the crisis.

Assaf Kfoury

Boston University computer science department Prof. Kfoury grew up in Beirut and Cairo and has published numerous articles on the Middle East in the Nation, Z-net, Counter Punch, etc, and has recently returned from Lebanon.

Nidal Bitari

Arab NGO Network for Development, ANND, Program Coordinator Mr. Bitari has written in Arabic journals and will talk about his expierences during the uprising in Syria as a Palestinian living in a Syrian refugee camp.

With Commentary By:

Elaine Hagopian

Professor of sociology at Simmons College (emeritus) Prof. Hagopian is Syrian by birth and has spent much of her life studying the Middle East, Palestine and Syria.

The drawn out conflict in Syria is of great concern; 100,000 people have been killed and there are more than a million refugees, but intervention by the US and other countries creates the potential for a major regional war.

The US decision to supply arms to the opposition escalates the violence when a ceasefire and political talks are needed.

Most activists in the peace/antiwar movement and public opinion oppose US intervention, but there are many questions because of the complexity and lack of reliable information.

US Forces Deployed in Jordan democracynow.org

The Following Questions will be Addressed:

-- What is the historical background of the current situation?

-- What is the actual situation in Syria, who are the players and what are
their agendas? How are things changing?

-- How are the US and other countries involved, including sanctions, "nonlethal" aid and covert actions? What can we do to oppose US
intervention?

-- Can the peace movement support a dialogue and "political solution by Syrians and for Syrians, based on the Geneva Declaration of June 2012"?
(Syrian American Forum)? How can this be achieved?

-- Is there a way to provide humanitarian assistance to refugees and other victims, through UN or genuinely neutral agencies?

For more information: info@justicewithpeace.org; 617-383-4857