On Saturday, President Obama announced his willingness to launch military action in Syria in order to punish the government of Bashar al-Assad for its alleged use of chemical weapons in a recent attack that killed hundreds of civilians. Syria has been embroiled in a state of civil war since March of 2011, when government protests began as part of the Arab Spring. Below are six excellent resources to help make sense of the conflict, why it matters so much to both the region and the world, and what the role the United States will likely play in it. Click on the images or headers to view content.
1. Associated Press: multimedia backgrounder and explainer on the crisis
2. NY Times: Key questions about what's happening now and how we got here
3. Huffington Post: Interactive historical timeline and slideshow
4. Al Jazeera: An interactive chart of Syria's global allies and enemies
5. BBC: A country profile and fact sheet on Syria
6. AP: A short video (produced last year) documenting the history of the conflict