Having Syrian citizens - not oilfields or politics - on his mind, Alex J. Bellamy demonstrates the hypocrisy of international politics in regard to Syria. In 'Syria Betrayed: Atrocities, War, and the Failure of International Diplomacy,' the author untangles the inner workings behind the civil war that has claimed millions of lives from 2011 onward. The reason Syria is not on the news is that other conflicts and wars are raging right now. Again, the Security Council condemns the war crimes. Besides, some ministers urge the world to stop the violence by active measures while others raise funds to eliminate the suffering, yet nothing changes on the spot.

"Unanimously endorsed by the UN General Assembly in 2005, the principle (of the "responsibility to protect") meant that governments recognized they have a responsibility to protect their populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing, and crimes against humanity. <...> They also pledged to use diplomatic, humanitarian, and other peaceful means to protect populations and decided that when a state is manifestly failing to protect its population from atrocities, the international community has a responsibility to take "timely and decisive action" to do so, using all necessary means through the United Nations Security Council." Instead, from the beginning, the UN Security Council was paralyzed by the right to veto, which Russia extensively used in support of Bashar Al-Assad's authoritarian regime. Russia, Turkey, Iran, the US (together with the British), Israel, various Islamic (radical or moderate) groupings, and surrounding Arab countries such as Lebanon or Egypt had their interests, money, and people invested in the conflict. Civilians were disregarded as collateral damage in the fight for control over territories; the country's infrastructure, educational and healthcare systems were destroyed. The book traces the constant switches of sides in month-by-month records, focusing on diplomacy outside Syria as well as the balance of power inside it. The research behind 'Syria Betrayed' is comprehensive and absolute in the sense that it doesn't leave a place for hope. Although Syria has settled into a fragile stalemate, the silence doesn't mean the people are not dying there.

I received a copy through Netgalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This is pretty intense, and I wish I knew more about the situation in Syria earlier.. I think this book, or the premise, should be studied by more people, maybe even everyone. Well written and easy to follow.

An in depth look into the war in Syria and the rest of the world's response or lack thereof to it. Bellamy dives into the nuances of why countries chose to respond the way that they did and how so many countries used Syria as a leveraging tool for their own objectives. It was particularly interesting to read about how strong Russia's influence was both for the Western world and the Assad regime, and how their power combined with China's abstentions stalled so many proposals that may have helped decrease civilian deaths. This book explains how no country, whether pro regime or anti regime, saw the Syrian people as a priority. A timely read as we see how differently the Western world responds to the war in Ukraine.