Like death and other similar factors, the final result of a war cannot be predicted. Military experts may use different plans and forecasts, Generals may implement their best strategies and government may equip the military with latest weaponry and provide it with all the facilities, but predicting the end result of war always remains as very difficult. It especially becomes difficult when we talk of the overall consequences of the war. Conditions may never remain the same. Different factors may come into existence that might have never been forecasted or thought of. This is what happened in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Iraq was a simple case. There was regime with limited number of soldiers who were not much well-equipped and well-trained. On the other side, there was a coalition army of dozens of most advanced countries of the world which enjoyed the best tactics, latest weapons and fertile brains to make strategies. While attacking Iraq, there were two reasons; one was to recover and keep away from the irresponsible hands of terrorists the weapons of mass destruction and second was to free the people from the cruel regime of a dictator. Attack was carried out and as expected, Iraqi army soon fled the scene and allied forces had soon captured the country. A very small number of forces loyal to Saddam Hussain showed some resistance but it was not going to last for long. In the beginning, it was even more pleasant than the expected. A government was rolled down and a new democratic government was established but then started a wave of suicide attacks and bombings that was so violent that both the Iraqi forces and international forces lost their way and days came when hundreds of security forces and civilians became the victims of this terror. Many strategies were adopted but it was not easy to be controlled. Before the war, world had little heard about Al-Qaeda but then we came to know how much strong and powerful it was. In order to tackle this wave of terrorism, many strategies were adopted but none of them gave the expected result. Private militia was formed, towns and villages were given arms to take responsibility of their area and many more but the wave of killings did not come to halt. It decreased a bit when American forces left the country but even today, terror groups and their violence have not stopped and country is in worse condition comparing to the time of regime.

Unlike Iraq, Afghanistan was not an easy task. Historians were aware that this country had never tolerated the foreign invaders and always expelled them out of its borders. It was the case with Britain in 19th century, with Russia in 20th century and the trend doesn’t seem to be changing for this century as well. When the foreign troops started the attack on Afghanistan, Taliban were in power and it was certain that they would not easily give up. If they were not able to fight directly, they could have proved very resilient by carrying out a guerilla-style combat. It was pleasing for the allied forces that Taliban could not resist the fierce air-raids and soon this government was also rolled over. Coincidentally, the initial years of democracy in Afghanistan were also pleasing like Iraq but later on, Taliban again got united and started carrying out their operations in different parts of the country. Since then, country has seen continuous increase in the attacks of Taliban and security situation doesn’t seem to be improving. With the departure of international forces in 2014, even worse is feared and it is the reason why so many people have already started selling their properties and fleeing to the other countries.

In present situation, when the attack of America and its allies seem inevitable, the problem would not end by finishing the regime of Bashar-ul Assad. No doubt, its army has shown surprising performance by resisting the rebel forces backed by all the regional and international powers for a long duration of three years but everyone is sure that it would never be able to face the sophisticated weapons and strategies of the forces of developed countries. At the same time, any such attack would add to the power of rebels and they may insert more pressure from the ground.

It is the reason why, United States and its allies are both confident and eager to carry out the attack, given that UN inspectors have yet to submit their report if Syrian forces had used the chemical weapons or not. If international powers carry out the attack and bring an end to the regime of Assad, the problem would not end; rather it would be exacerbated by numerous factors which are visible now and many more which may get birth with the passage of time.

The biggest and most evident problem would be the extremists who are fighting against the Syrian forces and form a healthy proportion of the rebel forces. Journalists and political analysts have repeatedly alarmed the world about the increasing influence of such factors. According to a report by an international reporter, they have already established religious courts and other organs of government that can be alternated to the democratic organs of government. At the same time, their radical thoughts and practices are going to pose serious threat for the establishment of a democratic setup based on dialogue and free will.

It is also reported that Al-Qaeda and numerous other extremist groups have infiltrated inside the lines of rebels and in case the foreign forces enter the country, they may have to tackle with these groups after handling the forces of Assad and it is sure that, they may not easily surrender or retreat. It is needed that, more time should be given to make strategies against these groups instead of thinking the regime forces.

As the reports say, country has become a battling ground for different nations of the world. Hezbollah of Lebanon backed by Iran is fighting shoulder by shoulder with Assad’s forces and it is an effort of a Shia state (Iran) to save the government of another Shia state in the region. After it was disclosed that Assad was helped by Shia groups, so many Sunni countries of the region jumped into the war to help the rebels. It is clear that this war is already infected by sectarian differences and in case a unified democratic government had to be formed in future, these two sects of the country may feel difficulty to sit on the same table. It also needs much contemplation that both the country and the region should be freed of any future clash based on sectarian differences.

Next problem, though less important, is the economy of United States. Its economy has not recovered from the burden of trillions of dollars that United States spent in Iraq and Afghanistan and in such circumstances; it would be very costly to open another hole to pipe dollars out of US economy.

Whatever may be the consequences, war always accompanies the killing of hundreds and thousands of both the sides but in this case, there is only side and this will be Syrians who will be killed as Regime forces, as rebels or as innocent citizens who would be the victim of following violence.