Yep let's bomb them to "punish" them for bombng each other, sarin components are generally stable but who knows what else may be stored alongside it, throwing a few tonns of HE into the mixture didn't look like a great idea. Don't know how much western intelligence was responsible for creating the current mess, there was a lot of not so covert support for the "moderates". Now the situation looks totally out of control though they are too busy killing each other to think about attacking anyone else, but if we had actually bombed them that could have changed, people who are bombed generally develop a strong urge to strike back that may change their priorities. The agreement to remove chemical weapons hopefully nullifies the risk of some falling into the hands of crazies and we should be glad it came about though I doubt that was the original idea behind the threats. The basic ingredient of "Nation building" is politicians, not foreign soldiers, no amount of foreign troops is going to achieve anything stable without local leaders, while the opposite is not true. Troops can "put a lid" on violence given sufficient force but that's as far as they can go and usually the get will get shot at by all sides for the effort. In a population strongly split by tribal or religious boundaries no nation building can happen unless either a group of local leaders willing to work together emerges (miracles do happen) or one local faction achieves a dominant position. US reputation for continued support is spotty as best, as support is very dependent on the mood of the voters, any faction that relies on it is taking a big risk.
I'm with Oma...Gordon...the real quote if you please matey..... Tos...its an old historical quote...and as we know...we learn from history...or ...not...
i' m afraid not everything is black or white.... When I read some of the comments I'm somewhat appaled. Syria has an ancient civilisation with a tremendous cultural heritage . They have some modern institutions and laique laws that forbid for instance the wearing of the Islamic veil. On the other hand not all insurgeants are terrorists. Some are fathers who are protecting their family and many are innocents who were drafted into this war against their will. Both camps are disappointed by the west. The insurgeants because they feel abandonned, and Bachars men because they feel they are struggling against fundamentalists .and are blamed for doing so . As to the Chemicals, if it wouldn't be so dramatic, it would almost be funny to realize that the two countries (France and the USA) which up to recently were advocating airstrikes agaisnt Syria for using Chemicals, have massively used Napalm and agent Orange in Vietnam (USA) or Algeria (France) . I know it's not Sarin, but is it more "acceptable" because no convention was signed .? So are "we" really the best gamsters to give lessons? I'm not saying any camp is worst than another, what I'm saying is that the line between the "bad" and the "good" guys isn't always clear and religion is just an excuse. Just my 2 cents.
Agreed lads, except the real reason why we didn't bomb them is not morals, but Russia's veto. Too bad for those presidents who were low in the polls and could have used the patriotic fibre to cast some votes.
I like Skipper's take. The good and evil lines are not clear here. I am glad inspectors are in country and retaliatory strikes are apparently shelved. My vote, U.S. stay out, help our Vets and our Nato / Seato allies who have problems from Agent Orange. The ones who are still with us, while we can make decent amends. A world without end, Amen!
An observation from a 12 year old German girl, Efriede Kuhr, 4Aug1914, Schneidemuhl, Germany - I think it sums up, extremely well, the processes that lead to any war including this event in Syria which many of us hope - will not transpire. "as of the politicians and generals who, fumbling, groping, and stumbling have led Europe into war: information exists but it is almost always incomplete or out of date, and for lack of facts has been padded out with guesses, suppositions, hopes, fears, idees fixes, conspiracy theories, dreams, nightmares and rumour, in particular." source: The Beauty and the Sorrow, Englund, p.7 What a great comment. A very astute observation by an obviously erudite young girl. The local townspeople wondered aloud why Scheidemuhl's 149th Infantry was being sent by rail to the Western Front.when the Pomeranians believed that the Russians, just 100 miles away were the real enemy. Hello. With Schneidemuhl on the main rr line from Berlin to Konigsberg it seemed to these people like a no brainer. Sorry for the digression.
Of course it's a bit off as well. I heard plenty of outrage voiced about events up to that point. The problem was there was little basis for in international law for interfering up to the point where chemical weapons were used. Of course the fact that certain countries contined to support Assad and veto any action against him in the UN was and is a factor.
China, the US government's largest foreign creditor has urged the US to avoid bankrupcy. This is insane! This simply means that the US government uses the Chinese "lend-lease" to bomb Syria and, very likely, Iran. A bankrupt government rises loans to wage other peoples war. Does Average Joe know that? Does anyone ask him for second opinion?
Let's not get too excited about the state of the US indebtedness to foreign creditors. Americans still hold the vast amount of the US govt. debt.
Indeed. Initially, I wanted to put my previous post in "Joke of the day" but bombing isn't funny, especially if you are on the receiving end.
It is if your doing the bombing or machine gunning these days....sorry to install some nasty war like talk, but some of our guys and girls have been proved to enjoy it more than the generations before them...Take them out....the ambulance is a pretty good target these days.
