PUNC IX: THE PENNSYLVANIA UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE Table of Contents Letter from the Crisis Director Page 2 Letter from the Bashar Al-Assad Government Chair Page 3 Letter from the Free Syrian Army Chair Page 4 Background Page 5 Committee Structure Page 6 Topics of Debate Page 7 Committee Positions Page 7 Research and Awards Page 8 Crisis Military Guidelines Page 9 1 PUNC IX: THE PENNSYLVANIA UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE Letter from the Crisis Director Dear Delegates, My name is Carver Murphy and I will be your crisis director for the Syrian Civil War Committee of PUNC IX. I am a junior here at Penn State pursuing a double major in History and Political Science as well as a triple minor in Chinese, Asian Studies, and Geography. While I have always been interested in model UN, I had no experience with it in high school. When I got to Penn State, I joined the Penn State International Affairs and Debate Association (PSIADA). Since then, I have had the pleasure of helping to staff two crisis committees in PUNC VII and PHUNC 2014. My first experience directing a committee and acting as Crisis Director was the Congress on Peace in the Middle East: ISIS 2016 committee of PUNC VIII, last year. I am excited to take on the challenge of running a joint crisis committee this year. I Model UN is a great way to have fun with international politics, public speaking, history, and current events. I hope all of you have fun, and learn, in the process of this committee. Please feel free to contact me should you have any questions regarding the committee structure, research advice, etc. I am at your service and happy to help in any way I can. Sincerely, Carver Murphy [email protected] 2 PUNC IX: THE PENNSYLVANIA UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE Letter from the Bashar Al-Assad Government Chair Dear Delegates, My name is Oga Bat-Yeruult and I am excited to serve as your chair in the Assad Government Committee within the Syrian Civil War Joint Committee of PUNC IX. I am a sophomore at Penn State studying International Politics with a concentration in International Affairs along with Economics and a minor in Spanish. I have been partaking in Model UN since I was a junior in high school and have continued on in the collegiate level. I joined the Penn State International Affairs and Debate Association (PSIADA) as a freshman and got a chance to co-chair in the Through Perestroika and Glasnost: The Warsaw Pact crisis committee in last year’s PUNC. It truly was a rewarding experience and I believe I learned a great deal on chairing a crisis committee. While my main responsibility entails making sure committee runs efficiently and smoothly, I hope that you can be creative and have fun along the way. What I love about all the crisis committees we run at PUNC is that it really is up to you, as delegates, as to where committee goes. As the chair of the Assad Government Committee, I hope you are all able to work together to take down the Free Syrian Army and take control of the nation! If you have any questions or concerns regarding the committee, your role, or anything else, feel free to contact me. I am more than willing to help make this a great experience. Sincerely, Oga Bat-Yeruult [email protected] 3 PUNC IX: THE PENNSYLVANIA UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE Letter from the Free Syrian Army Chair Dear Delegates, My name is Tom Santee, and I will be one of your chairs for the Syrian Civil War Committee of PUNC IX. I am a sophomore at Penn State, pursuing a degree in Aerospace Engineering. I am also a midshipman in Penn State’s NROTC program. While I have always had an interest in politics, I had no experience with it model UN in high school, as there was no school club, nor a way to know much about the concept in general. When I got to Penn State, I joined the Penn State International Affairs and Debate Association (PSIADA) because it seemed interesting. Since then, I have had the pleasure of helping to staff two crisis committees in PUNC VIII and PHUNC 2014. I staffed an India-Pakistan committee during PHUNC, which was my first real model UN experience. I was then crisis director of an Ad hoc committee during PUNC. I’ve also attended two conferences, NCSC and &MUN. I am excited to be chairing one of the joint committees. I love being able to moderate discussions and am eager to see where you will go in committee. Model UN is an awesome way to express a love of history, politics, current events, and arguing to solve a problem, all while learning a thing or two about public speaking and working with others. I hope you will all have fun, and maybe learn a bit, through the course of our committee. I, for example, learned where Syria was, for starters. Please feel free to contact me should you have any questions regarding the committee structure, research advice, etc. I am at your service and happy to help in any way I can. Sincerely, Thomas Santee [email protected] 4 PUNC IX: THE PENNSYLVANIA UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE Background Modern Middle Eastern History After World War I, the Middle East, much of which had been ruled by the Ottoman Empire, was divided up by the British and French. The Sykes-Picot Agreement, officially the Asia Minor Agreement, was the first step in creating the modern borders of the Middle East. However, the borders drawn by the Europeans were arbitrary and irrespective of the peoples, cultures, and nations on the ground. Between WWII and the 1970s, the states of the Middle East slowly gained their independence from the European powers. As they became independent, many of these states fought border wars as they tried to encompass all of their people in one state or simply grab land for oil. While to list every conflict would be ludicrous, notable major conflicts include the series of wars between Israel after its formation in 1949 and the surrounding Arab countries. In 1979, a revolution toppled the Shah of Iran and created an Islamic state. In the 1980s, Iraq and Iran fought a bloody war for 8 long years. In the 1990s, Iraq invaded Kuwait and was expelled by an international coalition. In 2001, Afghanistan was invaded in an attempt to expel the Taliban. In 2003, Iraq was invaded and Saddam Hussein’s regime toppled. Much of 20th century Middle Eastern politics is defined by autocratic leaders propped up by the United States or USSR. While the Middle East played a large part in Cold War politics (not always a peaceful one), the region took a turn for the worse as the Cold War ended and Islamic extremism became the new world focus. The Americans would get a taste of this decades after the Soviets did in Afghanistan. In the last few decades, extremism has rooted itself into safe havens across the Middle East. After the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime in 2003, Iraq became a power vacuum. Here, and in many other pockets across the Middle East, extremism and instability found a home. Brief History of the Syrian Conflict In 2011, massive protests swept across the Middle East. They toppled decades old regimes in Tunisia and Egypt and led to substantive changes in several other states. They attempted to spread democracy to a region ruled by autocrats. In Syria the protests turned into civil war, killing thousands and displacing many more. The government response was swift and very similar to the 1982 crackdown in Hama under Bashar al-Assad’s father, Hafez. The massacre killed tens of thousands and ensured the family’s continued rule for decades. Setting the Stage The war is relatively in its infancy. It is spring 2012, less than a year after the war began. The Free Syrian army, based in ar-Raqqah, have seized control over much of the northern part of the country; they have elected a Chief of Staff and Commander-in-Chief, as well as established regional commanders. Assad’s government continues to operate from secure 5 PUNC IX: THE PENNSYLVANIA UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE areas inside the capital of Damascus and controls most of the land in the country. Many Syrian politicians and generals have been killed, defected, or are missing. Kurdish forces have seized control over much of the Majority-Kurdish land and are determined to protect their countrymen. Stalemates in Homs, Hama, Damascus, Aleppo, and Deir az-Zor have turned large parts of these cities into rubble. Neither side seems to have a strategic advantage at this point. Committee Structure Structure and Purpose of the Committee The exciting nature of this committee is that it is in fact two committees. Instead of competing solely within your committee, you will also have to compete with another that you cannot see. On one side, the Free Syrian Army seeks to bring down the regime and build a new Syrian state. On the other side, the Assad government seeks to defeat the rebels and stabilize the country. The structure of this committee means that cooperation and ambition are equally important; finding the balance is the biggest challenge. Sessions While the topics of debate outlined above and at the end of this guide are the main themes of the committee, actions taken by committee members will shape the committee and debate. There is no “crisis map” and while Crisis will provide provoking crises, it will also react to the actions taken by committee members.