Syria getting more air time

Syria is getting more of the spotlight. But I don’t think they’re gone like it.

abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=525013

BAGHDAD, Iraq Feb 23, 2005

No news to Michael Ledeen who has frequently written about the support Iran, Syria AND Saudi Arabia are continuing to funnel to the rebels or insurgents in Iraq. THIS is why this war must be viewed as a regional conflict and it is not isolated to Iraq or Lebanon or Afghanistan. We must push over the whole rotten structure and Syria is the next logical step. It would also have the benefit of removing a source of financial and military support from the insurgents in Iraq while taking out the home base of the Baathist leadership which fled there following the take over of Iraq. It would serve the same salutory effect as taking Afghanistan from the Taliban. Let’s just do it. That will be one less front to fight when it comes time to deal with Iran, where we should step up assistance to every counter government group we can. After all, Iran still has 500 top level al Qaeda which they have refused to hand over. They are supporting insurgents in both Afghanistan and Iraq and they are the major bankroller of Hamas and Hezbollah. One less front will be most beneficial. And it may help free Lebanon. Thing of it as a two-fer.

I agree. Just do it. The bombing of the Marine barracks in the 1980s got me to sign up in the Marines. Bastards. I still own a grudge!

I agree that Syria should collapse, but the government there has considerably more support than Saddam did. They were both Ba’athist, or socialist, and Bashar didn’t actually run against anyone to win the presidency. You don’t have the same Shi’ite majority eager to change government, and some of the extremist groups that the Assad family has put down really needed to be put down. An invasion anytime soon would probably do more harm than good to the region and boost pan-Arab emotions, already running high after Iraq. They already seem to be pissing themselves, so letting them sit on an invasion while they’re economy is falling apart might be a more productive approach. Either that or send in the former cast of Baywatch to frolic in the desert and demoralize their troops. I don’t know why they cancelled that show.

It should not be about grudges or revenge nor should it be seen as such. I think the original US actions were viewed that way but oh what a difference when the TV cameras rolled showing happy Afghans and Iraqis voting in excited numbers. THAT is the message we want to send. NOT the bombs falling on corrupt dictators. Now the explosions and bombs are those of insurgents not the US Air Force and this is sinking in. Think of a free Lebanon, though I doubt the gangsters in Syria will roll over easily on that one nor will the Hezbollah and Hamas but hey I was surprised we got away with freeing Ukraine. Maybe more is possible though I am not counting on such a lucky streak continuing. Thank God the Germans (at least several CDU politicians) are finally making tracks to Kiev to lock the country into the Western economic and security infrastructure. This will be the final nail in the coffin of Russian expansionist dreams and may have a very salutory effect on helping Russia view itself less as an outsider that needs to take over territory to defend itself, ironically spawning the very sort of military threat that it feared, but as part of an interlocking system of cooperative entities.

Fred, HEEL!

That was a joke. :slight_smile:

Sorry you know how enthusiastic I am about these things. That is when I am not being sarcastic. I think that is the right word. I would not want to steal Hobbes’ thunder which is his forte in irony. That is a field I would not even begin to dream of challenging him in.

Just make sure it’s a medium shot, or better yet, a close up. We wouldn’t want any of those pesky longshots that showed the toppling of Saddam’s statue was the work of a fairly small crowd, protected by the invaders tanks, now would we?

Snippiness from you Rooftop? How unexpected and how very disappointing.

What is the difference between say the Iraqi election and the one in South Africa? Let’s re-examine these issues as presented in the article below. Why is one election albeit not perfect celebrated while endless fault and dire predictions and naysaying surround the other?

[quote]The announcement of the Iraqi election results on February 13 evokes memories of the historic polls in South Africa that buried the apartheid system. In both cases a long-discriminated-against majority

Syria is back in the news, playing up to their new neighbors in Iraq:

story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=s … mi_ea/iraq

Things are changing very quickly in the ME these days…I’m surprised there hasn’t been MORE violence.

Now the Israelis are using any excuse to accuse syria of everything from a bomb to the weather.

news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4301851.stm

If you beleive what Slug sharon says you’ll believe what son of a bush says.

Just two more lying bastards.

Well how about this one then…

Remember how neocons like me were always saying that Syria and Iran were providing havens for top Iraqi leaders and terrorists? and were funding the insurgency? and how even wmds may have ended up in Syria? And how more not less pressure would be better? Well read on baby…

cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/02/ … index.html

Well today’s China Post has a picture of 200 Lebanese students protesting against Resolution 1559 which calls for Syria to remove its troops and intelligence agencies from Lebanon.

Now, just pray tell, how does one go about getting a group of 200 people to protest anything in Syria? Haha. A totally natural democratic outpouring of opinion? Give me a f****ing break. How can news organizations print these things like they in fact mean something. Shouldn’t there be a qualifier for the ignorant and feeble-minded that says:

***This photograph was supplied with the permission of the Syrian government. In Syria, no freedom of assembly exists. If this had not received the prior approval and even possibly was in fact organized by the Syria government, such an assembly would have resulted in the detention, torture and imprisonment of those involved.

How would that be for a little media honesty for a change?


Bush Demands that Syria Leave Lebanon

Another domino about to fall? First the Americans and French, then the UN, then the Russians and now the Saudis and Egyptians call for the Syrians to get out of Lebanon? Thank God for George W. Bush!

[quote]Saudi Arabia told Syria on Thursday to withdraw its troops from Lebanon, adding substantially to Syria’s international isolation just a day after Russia joined Western nations in making a similar call.

Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian president, went Thursday to Riyadh, the Saudi capital, hoping to secure Saudi support before a coming Arab summit meeting. But Saudi officials told Reuters and The Associated Press that Crown Prince Abdullah Bin Abdel-Aziz had delivered an unusually blunt rebuff. Egypt, the other key Arab player, has also called for the withdrawal of Syria from Lebanon.

“The Arabs have taken a stand and the international community have taken a stand,” said Joseph Samaha, editor in chief of As Safir, a Lebanese daily. “This means there is no ally left for Syria.” [/quote]

nytimes.com/2005/03/04/inter … r=homepage

Texas Republican Congressman: “Nuke Syria”

counterpunch.org/thoreau03022005.html

All said in a church full of roaring hypocritical christians.

cake -
a very popular thread at DUmmies underground.
Thanks for sharing. :unamused:

Syria is in the hot seat now and that is good. Let the US lull the Iranians temporarily while we take care of this little chestnut first. Oh yes, we buy into the European plan to get Iran to give up its nukes, etc, etc. We can always deal with it later after we have Lebanon and Syria removed from the equation. I truly believe that taking Syria out will remove a lot of the difficulties that we are facing in Iraq. Lots of funding and Baathist leaders will suddenly find themselves captured or forced to find new homes. Either way, the supply and support will be disrupted. Let’s just do it. No need for nukes. Syria is a lovely country that I would be very keen to revisit when it has democracy and freedom. Who knows? It might just be possible. Worth the try.

[quote]Syria test-fired three Scud missiles last Friday, including one that broke up over Turkish territory and showered missile parts down onto unsuspecting Turkish farmers, Israeli military officials revealed Thursday. These were the first such Syrian missile tests since 2001, the Israelis said, and were part of a Syrian missile development project using North Korean technology and designed, the Israelis contend, to deliver air-burst chemical weapons. The missiles included one older Scud B, with a range of about 185 miles, and two Scud D’s, the Israelis say they believe, with a range of about 435 miles. Little was especially startling about the tests, Israeli officials said, except the embarrassment to Turkey - a member of NATO - and the timing, during the Lebanese elections. The Israeli military officials said they interpreted the launchings as a gesture of defiance to the United States and the United Nations by the Syrian president, Bashir al-Assad, who has been pushed in a humiliating fashion to remove Syrian troops from Lebanon since the assassination of the anti-Syrian politician, Rafik Hariri.

"This is really putting your fingers in the eyes of the Americans, saying, ‘I’m not dancing to your flute,’ " a senior Israeli military official said. “The tests are probably needed for the missile project, but this is Bashir taking a risk here and sending a message.”[/quote]

nytimes.com/2005/06/03/inter … r=homepage

I think that the time has come to send an even stronger message to Syria. Perhaps some accidental border crossovers by US military forces “in pursuit” of al Qaeda operatives? Now, that Syria has had to cough up Lebanon, things are moving along nicely but they could be speeded up even more. Syria is a major part of the problem and the No. 1 route for “would-be insurgents” and also a haven for ex-Saddamite officials and their families who have the funding to support the insurgency. I still wonder if any of Iraq’s non-existent wmds ended up in Syria. Maybe we need to do a bit more to “find out?”

Also, I really do hope we are doing more to destabilize Iran. It’s not like they are disinterested bystanders in Iraq or Afghanistan who have done nothing to destabilize both. Also, I would like to know why they have refused to deport or turn over the nearly 500 al Qaeda operatives that they “detained” or provided “sanctuary” to following the fall of Afghanistan. Turn them over.

[quote]
I think that the time has come to send an even stronger message to Syria. Perhaps some accidental border crossovers by US military forces “in pursuit” of al Qaeda operatives? Now, that Syria has had to cough up Lebanon, things are moving along nicely but they could be speeded up even more. Syria is a major part of the problem and the No. 1 route for “would-be insurgents” and also a haven for ex-Saddamite officials and their families who have the funding to support the insurgency. I still wonder if any of Iraq’s non-existent wmds ended up in Syria. Maybe we need to do a bit more to “find out?”[/quote]

I agree. If Syria is such a magnet for the more unstable elements…then shake it up and see what falls out. They must be guilty of something, right? :smiling_imp: Shoot first ask, questions later. Not that I’m against due process…just more for what goes around comes around.

My feeling is that they are not being given so much sanctuary. They are more probably being tortured day in and day out for information. And I’m sure they’d all LOVE to turned over to the Gitmo daycare camp.