Syria's leaders continue to slaughter innocents

[a777pilot]

WOW!

More people die of starvation in shithole countries every day around the world than Syria guns down. Why again should the US give a rats ass about what the leader of a so-called peaceful Muslim nation does to their peaceful brothers?

Exactly.

 

[Schadenfroh]

Looks like they are making a push to secure Hama. Possibly 45 more dead today by their "president."

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/08/04/us-syria-idUSTRE76T02020110804

Syrian troops killed at least 45 civilians in a tank assault to occupy the center of the besieged city of Hama, an activist said on Thursday, in a sharp escalation of a campaign to crush an uprising against President Bashar al-Assad's rule.

Thousands of civilians were fleeing the city, a bastion of protest surrounded by a ring of steel of troops with tanks and heavy weapons.

Electricity and communications have been cut off and as many as 130 people have been killed in a four-day military assault since Assad sent troops into the city on Sunday, activists say.

RIP to the patriots of Syria.

 

[Jaskalas]

Our modern world is not beyond the plight cast upon it by the human condition. Society, advanced as it is, pales in comparison to such a simple nature. War and violence continue to reign free.

Do we know better than the Syrians, does Syria need a two state solution? One for the 'military' and the other for the 'terrorists'? Who are we to decide such things if we were to involve ourselves?

They will live and die at the whim of their strong man. It will conclude with either a solid victory, or a ceasefire due to attrition. Likely the latter, but do such things warrant our involvement? Do we need to step in similar to Libya?

Now I pose to you another question, why is the Syrian solution not also suitable for Israel? Let the strongman wet its appetite, and let the two sides come to terms with the reality of their own plight.

 

[William Gaatjes]

It is just disturbing.
I do not know what the real situation is. It seems a lot of UN members want to take action but China and Russia are being difficult for some reason. At least according to the news article in the newspaper i read, a few days ago. Since Libya is already "helped", going after another country seem to create some bad vibes with respect to the economy.
Maybe someone has some better information ?


EDIT:
I made a mistake, it is not the NATO but the United nations (UN) where several countries came together to discuss actions. It was Germany who asked for a special meeting.

 

[William Gaatjes]

Forgot to explain :

China is somewhat understandable as an economic power with influence. Russia may seem less clear for people living in the USA. In the EU however, Russia is a very important exporter of natural gas. And this gas is needed especially with the hasty decisions of some EU members to ban all nuclear energy.
Natural gas will be used for electricity generation. Gazprom(Russian gas company where Vladimir Putin is a head figure and exports gas to Germany and the Netherlands and ...) has a lot of ties in west Europe.

 

[William Gaatjes]

Reading history seems to explain the nasty side of politics once again.
According to analysts :
It seems that for the last three decades, Syria bought a lot of weapons worth of 17 billion euros(~24 billion dollars and change). These weapons have been bought from Russia. It seems China also sold weapons to the regime in Syria.

 

[mizzou]

Unless we go 100% to support someone I dont care. Doing half assed support or caring is just a wasre of valuable time and money

 

[piasabird]

It is not the job of the USA to be the nanny to all these muslim countries. Not only do they hate us and want to kill us, but they dont even want our help. Let them kill each other. If we try to help these fools, our soldiers will continue to come home in body bags.

Let them ask Isreal to help! They have guided ati-tank Missles that can hit a target 15 miles away.

 

[crashtestdummy]

The discussion of whether or not the UN/NATO/Somebody should go into Syria is moot. The protesters have made it clear that they don't want foreign armies intervening. All they ask for is for worldwide condemnation of and the severing of economic ties with the regime.

 

[William Gaatjes]

The discussion of whether or not the UN/NATO/Somebody should go into Syria is moot. The protesters have made it clear that they don't want foreign armies intervening. All they ask for is for worldwide condemnation of and the severing of economic ties with the regime.

That is interesting, no foreign armies. But foreign weapons would be alright i assume ? That is the problem with ethical and morally right politics. It is difficult to make an offer to help while at the same time thoroughly making clear that weapons will not be sold. But that is an utopia. Because always somewhere on this planet somebody is willing to make a soul severing quick buck.

 

[MotF Bane]

That is interesting, no foreign armies. But foreign weapons would be alright i assume ? That is the problem with ethical and morally right politics. It is difficult to make an offer to help while at the same time thoroughly making clear that weapons will not be sold. But that is an utopia. Because always somewhere on this planet somebody is willing to make a soul severing quick buck.

And we should not be arming rebel groups, considering how badly that one has come back to bite us in the past. One decade it's "arm anything but commies", a few decades later a policy of "arm anyone claiming to be against dictatorship" does not seem any better.

 

[William Gaatjes]

And we should not be arming rebel groups, considering how badly that one has come back to bite us in the past. One decade it's "arm anything but commies", a few decades later a policy of "arm anyone claiming to be against dictatorship" does not seem any better.

I fully agree. The weapons represent the technological advancement of an society. Modern societies will spawn modern weapons. Giving a not so modern society modern weapons is a big extrapolation fail. A certain mindset is needed for certain power. Or corruption will always come in to play. It is inevitable.

 

[OCGuy]

Time to stop solving other's problems.

 

[Schadenfroh]

Apparently, the Hama was not enough to send a message, tanks have rolled into another city to slaughter the unarmed civilians. The strongly worded statement from the U.N. does not seem to be working:

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/08/07/us-syria-idUSTRE76T02020110807

Syrian troops killed 20 people in a tank assault on the eastern city of Deir al-Zor on Sunday
...
A resident told Reuters: "Early this morning columns of army tanks and bulldozers, under cover of heavy rounds of gunfire, stormed into the western and northern entrances of the city and dismantled barricades set up by residents.

"A dozen tanks are taking position in the main square in Jubaila market in the northern sector of Deir al-Zor," the resident, who gave his name as Abu Bakr, said by telephone.
...
"In a phone conversation with President Assad...the Secretary General expressed his strong concern and that of the international community at the mounting violence and death toll in Syria over the past days," the U.N. press office said.

The military assault on Deir al-Zor, about 400 km (250 miles) north-east of Damascus, was launched a day after U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon told Assad he was alarmed by the escalating violence and demanded he rein in the army.

 

[Howard]

Going to war for somebody else's interests is kind of like buying stuff for yourself - only if you can afford it. Can we? No.

 

[Icepick]

Is Syria's current ruling government Christian?

 

[Schadenfroh]

Is Syria's current ruling government Christian?

Their socialist government is secular, their dictator claims Shia Islam as his faith.

Time to stop solving other's problems.

I agree, which is why we should not be attacking Libya.

we should not be arming rebel groups

We should not give them arms, but selling them arms should be on the table if they can find an international sponsor to float them the cash.

 

[Icepick]

Their socialist government is secular, their dictator claims Shia Islam as his faith.


I agree, which is why we should not be attacking Libya.


We should not give them arms, but selling them arms should be on the table if they can find an international sponsor to float them the cash.

We should be attacking Libya and supporting rebels if you understand that one of the U.S.'s geopolitical goals is to keep much of the world in a continuous state of chaos.

 

[shira]

We should send Dennis Kucinich back over there to make some more pro-regime videos.

His last visit obviously did a lot of good...

So you're saying the U.S. should intervene militarily?

 

[Schadenfroh]

The dictator of Syria has responded to criticism from Turkey, Russia, The UN, etc.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/08/09/us-syria-idUSTRE76T02020110809

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said on Tuesday his forces would continue to pursue "terrorist groups" after Turkey pressed him to end a military assault aimed at crushing protests against his rule.[
...
Syria "will not relent in pursuing the terrorist groups in order to protect the stability of the country and the security of the citizens," state news agency SANA quoted Assad as telling Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.

To back the statement, thirty more are killed and another city occupied:

While the two men held talks in Damascus, Syrian forces killed at least 30 people and moved into a town near the Turkish border, an activist group said.

Looks like the number of innocent civilians slain has surpassed 1,600:

at least 1,600 civilians have died since the uprising against Assad erupted in March

 

[Lithium381]

The dictator of Syria has responded to criticism from Turkey, Russia, The UN, etc.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/08/09/us-syria-idUSTRE76T02020110809


To back the statement, thirty more are killed and another city occupied:


Looks like the number of innocent civilians slain has surpassed 1,600:

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said on Tuesday his forces would continue to pursue "terrorist groups" after Turkey pressed him to end a military assault aimed at crushing protests against his rule.
Syria "will not relent in pursuing the terrorist groups in order to protect the stability of the country and the security of the citizens," state news agency SANA quoted Assad as telling Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.

then they should just pass a patriot act of their own..... .fsck the citizenry.. so long as they're "hunting terrorists" then anything goes anything is fair games..... rights of the people? not on their watch!

 

[Schadenfroh]

After (Muslim) Sabbath day prayers, 10 more innocents slaughtered by the dictator's legions:

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/08/12/us-syria-idUSTRE76T02020110812

Syrian forces kill 10 protesters after Friday prayers
...
In Deir al-Zor, forces fired live ammunition at protesters coming out of a main mosque

A witness said a fire broke out in the mosque after security forces shot at it. "The whole neighborhood is echoing with the sound of bullets. Worshippers are running to take cover in alleyways," he said by telephone.
..
Activists said at least 19 people were killed by Syrian forces in raids near the Lebanon border and in the country's Sunni Muslim tribal heartland Thursday.

The number of dead civilians has hit 1,700:

More than 1,700 civilians in all have been killed in the military crackdown on protests

 

[dainthomas]

After (Muslim) Sabbath day prayers, 10 more innocents slaughtered by the dictator's legions:

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/08/12/us-syria-idUSTRE76T02020110812

Why we support the rebels in Libya, who are actual terrorists, and not innocent civilians in Syria is beyond me.

Oh wait, Syria doesn't have oil. Now I remember. :thumbsdown:🙄

 

[Schadenfroh]

Wow, they are really pulling out all the stops. One usually thinks that infantry with automatic rifles, snipers and mortars are sufficient to slaughter unarmed civilians, then the Syrian dictator started using tanks to speed up the job and now warships!

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/08/14/us-syria-idUSTRE77D0LP20110814

The Syrian navy shelled the main Mediterranean port city of Latakia Sunday, residents said, as President Bashar al-Assad broadened a military offensive to crush street protests against his rule.
...
"I can see the silhouettes of two grey vessels. They are firing their guns and the impact is landing on al-Raml al-Filistini and al-Shaab neighborhoods," one witness told Reuters by phone from Latakia, where tanks and armored vehicles deployed three months ago to crush dissent against Assad in mainly Sunni neighborhoods
...
"This is the most intense attack on Latakia since the uprising. Anyone who sticks his head out of the window risks being shot. They want to finish off the demonstrations for good," he said

20+ dead on Sunday:

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 21 civilians were killed Sunday. The deaths came after security forces shot dead 20 people during nationwide marches Friday.

 

[boochi]

NATO and the UN have NO credibility. They turn a blind eye to Syria, Rwanda, Darfur, and others. They will not step in if the other side can fight back or to protect blacks, but if you have oil we come a running.