This video is so brutal I am leaving the link here and not embedding it. People gunned down in broad daylight. 
youtube.com/watch?v=te6frdIh … _embedded#! You’ve been warned. NSFW I couldn’t decide to put it here or the video forum. I want to know, what the hell is going on there?
Is anybody helping these people? Is NATO there?
I feel sick.
Not specifically addressing the video, but, for what it is, here’s a nice nutshell answer to the question:
Trying to follow what is going on in Syria and why? This comic will get you there in 5 minutes.
hmmm.
According to Wikipedia, about a third of the country is probably uninhabitable desert. The rest is water-stressed but not impossible to farm. The cartoon suggests this is all about climate change (ie. the fault of bad old foreigners) but a more likely explanation is deforestation, inappropriate agricultural practices, and the Middle Eastern obsession with goats, which are destructive little buggers.
When Syrians go around killing other Syrians or ruining their farmland, it’s probably safe to say the fault lies with Syrians.
OTOH if you take the lid off a repressive regime and allow a whole bunch of petty family feuds to blow up in everyone’s faces, the results are a bit predictable. Not as if it hasn’t happened a dozen times before in recent history. It’s a pity NATO - or whoever - can’t put a million boots on the ground in situations like this to occupy the police force, government admin offices, etc so that people can feel safe enough to go about their daily business until everyone just calms the fuck down. Otherwise you end up with this:
The Syrian regime extreme repression and violence helped to create the horrors of ISIS. The Syrians were even using chlorine gas and of course now Isis have been using it. Assad could have could
Have comprised but didn’t, thought he could control it with more violence but not this time. Usually they say population growth is also behind these issues, but i guess it’s a myriad of factors, mostly caused by their lack of ability to compromise and act humanely to people of different backgrounds and religions.
Millions of Muslim refugees stream to secular nations to enjoy the fruits of decency
And common sense.
The cartoon emphasizes climate issues, but neglects sectarian and partisan ones.
We can’t understand Syria without also looking at parallel developments in Iraq and to a lesser extent, Lebanon. After the fall of Saddam Hussein, Shi’a Arabs in Iraq succeeded in ethnically cleansing Baghdad (of Sunni Arabs), and excluding former Baathists (generally Sunni Arabs) from the new government. This encouraged a general breakdown in interethnic relations, and the de facto breakup of Iraq. (The Kurds already had de facto autonomy, and were waiting for opportunities to declare de jure independence and/or enlarge their territories.) Perhaps a million Sunni Iraqi refugees ended up in Syria.
The “Arab Spring” (and related movements in Europe and the USA) was a generational conflict, not limited to any one sect or ethnicity, and it spread from country to country. However, the effect of old political divides (Muslim Brotherhood vs. Gulf monarchies vs. military autocrats) could not be avoided–think of all the changes in Egypt’s government, for example.
In Syria, protests targeting Assad (a military dictator from the Alawi sect–folk Shi’a, but the details don’t matter–all you need to know is that it is an identity group) took on democratic, populist trappings. Since the ruling Alawis are an ethnic minority, democracy would favor Sunnis but not Alawis. Anyway, Assad wasn’t interested in stepping down, and brutally repressed the protests. Despite some effort to create a trans-sectaran opposition, the strongest opposition groups were Sunni fundamentalist militias with an ideology similar to al-Qaeda. IS (whose leadership consisted largely of former Baathists from Iraq) is basically this, on steroids. Thanks to IS, Syria–like Iraq–has broken down more or less along ethnic lines, like so:
Alawis and Christians dominate a coastal strip, plus most of Damascus. They are not thrilled with Assad, but fear being massacred by Sunnis. Russia, which has a naval base in Latakia, is their protector.
The Syrian Kurds have successfully defended their lands along the Turkish border. They receive help from Iraqi Kurds as well as Kurds from Turkey, and have entered into an alliance with the USA (which finds them useful in the fight against IS). The AK government of Turkey hates the idea of an autonomous Kurdish region in Syria, and is working to undermine it. Turkey complains that the USA has prioritized the fight against IS (Sunni, like most of Turkey) over the fight against Assad (Shi’i / Alawi), and accuses Syria’s Kurds of working with Assad against Sunni “rebel” militias. There is truth in this.
The IS controls a vast interior. They have no real international allies, though they have received secret support from the AK Turkish government as well as a few rich Saudis. They benefit from the ethnic divide–few Sunnis are all that religious, but the only other option is often submission to rule by Shi’ites.
Several other Sunni militias are active in Syria, and would be more palatable to their neighbors (and to the great powers), but are far weaker than IS. In fact, some groupings have up and joined IS. Saudi Arabia and Turkey support them to some extent.
Even though Syria is now divided largely along ethnic lines, the resulting regions are highly unstable, hence the continuing civil war.
Wars, rumors of war, drought, famine, pestilence and strife. Neighbor against neighbor and the old order in decay. Time for someone with strength and vision to step into this maddening international leadership vacuum and establish a new world order. Someone with the ability to take charge and get things done and who asks only that you reject the old order and offer him alone fealty. Behold the lamb of Gog and Magog. The prophet of climate change, jesus government and a clean break with the past. R u ready?
Erm… way too much complexity and subtlety for me here guys. I like my five-minute comic version that allows me to pound my pet issue… but thanks anyway!
[quote=“Zla’od”]The cartoon emphasizes climate issues, but neglects sectarian and partisan ones.
We can’t understand Syria without also looking at parallel developments in Iraq and to a lesser extent, Lebanon. After the fall of Saddam Hussein, Shi’a Arabs in Iraq succeeded in ethnically cleansing Baghdad (of Sunni Arabs), and excluding former Baathists (generally Sunni Arabs) from the new government. This encouraged a general breakdown in interethnic relations, and the de facto breakup of Iraq. (The Kurds already had de facto autonomy, and were waiting for opportunities to declare de jure independence and/or enlarge their territories.) Perhaps a million Sunni Iraqi refugees ended up in Syria.
The “Arab Spring” (and related movements in Europe and the USA) was a generational conflict, not limited to any one sect or ethnicity, and it spread from country to country. However, the effect of old political divides (Muslim Brotherhood vs. Gulf monarchies vs. military autocrats) could not be avoided–think of all the changes in Egypt’s government, for example.
In Syria, protests targeting Assad (a military dictator from the Alawi sect–folk Shi’a, but the details don’t matter–all you need to know is that it is an identity group) took on democratic, populist trappings. Since the ruling Alawis are an ethnic minority, democracy would favor Sunnis but not Alawis. Anyway, Assad wasn’t interested in stepping down, and brutally repressed the protests. Despite some effort to create a trans-sectaran opposition, the strongest opposition groups were Sunni fundamentalist militias with an ideology similar to al-Qaeda. IS (whose leadership consisted largely of former Baathists from Iraq) is basically this, on steroids. Thanks to IS, Syria–like Iraq–has broken down more or less along ethnic lines, like so:
Alawis and Christians dominate a coastal strip, plus most of Damascus. They are not thrilled with Assad, but fear being massacred by Sunnis. Russia, which has a naval base in Latakia, is their protector.
The Syrian Kurds have successfully defended their lands along the Turkish border. They receive help from Iraqi Kurds as well as Kurds from Turkey, and have entered into an alliance with the USA (which finds them useful in the fight against IS). The AK government of Turkey hates the idea of an autonomous Kurdish region in Syria, and is working to undermine it. Turkey complains that the USA has prioritized the fight against IS (Sunni, like most of Turkey) over the fight against Assad (Shi’i / Alawi), and accuses Syria’s Kurds of working with Assad against Sunni “rebel” militias. There is truth in this.
The IS controls a vast interior. They have no real international allies, though they have received secret support from the AK Turkish government as well as a few rich Saudis. They benefit from the ethnic divide–few Sunnis are all that religious, but the only other option is often submission to rule by Shi’ites.
Several other Sunni militias are active in Syria, and would be more palatable to their neighbors (and to the great powers), but are far weaker than IS. In fact, some groupings have up and joined IS. Saudi Arabia and Turkey support them to some extent.
Even though Syria is now divided largely along ethnic lines, the resulting regions are highly unstable, hence the continuing civil war.[/quote]
Not to mention the tribal divisions within the sects (mostly Sunni)which is what kicked this war off. And then there is the external intervention by the US,Israel,saudis,Iran and everyone else in the region each with their own geopolitical /religious agendas. What a cluster fuck.
Liveleak.com has some pretty disturbing vids of the war if ya have the stomach for it
Syria is a great example of Arabs not being high on oil money and killing each other for going to the wrong mosque.
Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia and the US being involved makes it worse of course.
Not really worth having any NATO solider killed though.
Whoops, Tartus has the Russian naval base. Latakia is just a listening post.
And I stupidly neglected to mention Iran, which supports the (12er Shi’a Arab) Iraqi government and (Alawi Shi’a Arab) Syrian regime. They have fairly good relations with the Kurds as well. The Iraqi military has turned out to be largely useless, so private Shi’a militias (most of them with Iranian ties) have taken up the slack–something that does not bode well for inter-sectarian relations. There have been sporadic attempts to persuade Sunni tribes to support the Iraqi government, but without long-term success. Similar tribal groupings in Syria might well switch sides away from IS, but so far IS has been ruthless enough to kill anybody who they think might betray them. (That’s one of the reasons for their success vis-a-vis other Sunni militas.)
There is also some interesting drama going on with the Druze (supported by the USA and Israel, against the Syrian government and Russia) but never mind, there’s always another group somewhere. Yes, the war is pulling in outside powers. I suppose it will end either when they agree on a partition of Syria, or when one faction annihilates the others.
Agent Smith, which Sunni tribal divisions do you think were responsible for the Syrian civil war?
[quote]Syria is a great example of Arabs not being high on oil money and killing each other for going to the wrong mosque.
Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia and the US being involved makes it worse of course.
Not really worth having any NATO solider killed though.
[/quote]
No. Syria is just another example of regime change supported by the west / Israel and NATO, the Saud family at the cost of innocent Arabs who do not subscribe to American foreign policy o Saudi Wahhabism. I thought it was only a select group of Arab militants destroying mosques ,ancient artifacts,ect but I guess an Arab is an Arab is an Arab,huh?
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wahhabism
And they aren’t the only ones blowing up mosques in the region.
beforeitsnews.com/terrorism/2015 … 54322.html
middleeasteye.net/columns/pe … 1690265165
Oil isn’t a factor in this war?
armedforcesjournal.com/pipel … -in-syria/
I can’t remember. I recall hearing about it at the start of the war.
[quote=“agentsmith”][quote]Syria is a great example of Arabs not being high on oil money and killing each other for going to the wrong mosque.
Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia and the US being involved makes it worse of course.
Not really worth having any NATO solider killed though.
[/quote]
No. Syria is just another example of regime change supported by the west / Israel and NATO, the Saud family at the cost of innocent Arabs who do not subscribe to American foreign policy o Saudi Wahhabism. I thought it was only a select group of Arab militants destroying mosques ,ancient artifacts,ect but I guess an Arab is an Arab is an Arab,huh? [/quote]
What I wrote is more or less exactly what you wrote.
And nowhere did I mention destroying mosques. I wrote about attending the wrong mosque.
The world kind of stumbled into this. When Syrians began calling for Assad to step down, it looked like regime change might happen (as in other countries), so Turkey and the USA decided to support the protests. Then when Assad started massacring the protesters, well, who could support him after that? But if you oppose Assad, the logical question becomes, who DO you support? Attempts to put together a unified Syrian opposition failed–the various factions had fundamentally different goals.
As for the outside powers, Iran wanted Syria to stay part of the Shi’a Crescent, i.e. remain under Alawi rule. Turkey wanted to prevent Kurdish autonomy, support the Turkmen minority, and (under the religious AKP government) saw Sunni fundamentalists as plausible partners. Saudi Arabia wanted to prevent the emergence of an Arab democracy (say, under a Muslim Brotherhood government) and had mixed feelings about Sunni fundamentalist militias (support for which might backfire). They would have been okay with Assad staying in power–autocracy being something they appreciate. Russia wanted to protect its naval base and secondarily, local Christians. The USA wanted to seem to be in charge, without having to actually put boots on the ground (especially with no clear goal in sight). They finally felt they had to do something about IS, and so decided to provide air support to Kurdish and to a lesser extent, Iraqi Shi’a opponents of IS. Israel wants to keep any one faction from prevailing in Syria’s south, and is also facing domestic pressure to support the Druze there. Note that several of these outside powers are motivated more by a desire to oppose one another, or by domestic considerations, than any particular goals in Syria.
Bunch of fucking retarded children. How do you get through to people like this that the point of holding national power - or influencing the national power of others - is not so that you can decide how to decorate the mosques and tell people what clothes to wear, but to keep the power on, the traffic flowing, and food in the shops? Is there not some sort of training course run by KPMG?
I despair for the human race, really. A gaggle of sodding chimps could get themselves sorted faster than this lot.
Within Syria, only IS really cares about other people’s religious behavior. For the rest, religion is just an identity group, or a marker for an identity group.
Five things you never knew about Syria:
news.com.au/world/five-thing … 6849451251
[quote]The diversity of the Syrian people
For centuries, Syria has been a melting pot of religion and ethnicities. According to Tara, who is Orthodox Christian, and her fiance, a Sunni Muslim, mixed marriages are common than people think — though since the start of the war, it has been increasingly difficult.
Syria’s majority are Sunni Muslim, while 12 more than cent are Alawite Muslims and four per cent are Druze. The remainder of the population is 10 per cent Christian with small Jewish enclaves in Syrian cities, while northeast of Syria has a Kurdish majority, nine per cent of the population.
“I’ve lived in Syria my whole life, and I never had a problem as a Christian. Muslims were always helpful, including when it came to things like finding a job,” Tara says.
[/quote]
[quote=“agentsmith”]Five things you never knew about Syria:
news.com.au/world/five-thing … 6849451251
[/quote]
Well, I didn’t now Omar Sharif was of Syrian descent. I must say I was somewhat less amazed to discover that Syrians like to shop in markets, they like food, they feel they are hospitable to guests, and that their country is full of old stuff.
As for the many ethnic divisions- isn’t that “Uh, no shit, Sherlock” level? Gee, they have Kurds and Alawites and Shi’ites and Sunnis and Christians…
Hey, no fair posting intelligent, informed, well thought-out commentary.
Hey, no fair posting intelligent, informed, well thought-out commentary.[/quote]
The world stumbled into this as much as they stumbled into Korea, Vietnam , Iraq ,Libya ,ect. Syria is up against a global cabal who has their hired guns (moderates and some suggest ISIS) doing their dirty work for them in order to replace a government . A very familiar story that goes back to ww1. How some of you people can be on board with the obvious terrorist policies and double standard of these global criminals who make their own rules as they go is beyond me. I guess some people are convinced that those who do not submit to the self serving globalist policies must be dealt with to make this world a better place and the destruction of countries, cultures,millions of lives at the cost of trillions of tax payers dollars is all just collateral damage.I guess you believe you will somehow be the beneficiary of this global mayhem if you just keep supporting the side with the advantage? Yay team !
And who is in this global cabal?