The war in Syria: A brief timeline

America is on the brink of taking military action in Syria. How did we get here?

Syria protest
(Image credit: Mario Tama/Getty Images)

The United States appears poised to launch missile strikes against the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, which is accused of using chemical weapons to kill hundreds of people near Damascus earlier this month. But this is hardly the beginning of the war. Syria has been consumed by violence for two and a half years. Here, a brief look at how the situation has escalated since 2011.

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Keith Wagstaff is a staff writer at TheWeek.com covering politics and current events. He has previously written for such publications as TIME, Details, VICE, and the Village Voice.