Strike On Syria?

[4588686]

Since it is giving arms to the rebels, and you may choose to think that American arms only go to those who are kind and forgiving, but I believe that they are being passed around within the rebel groups indiscriminately.  Evidently the Melkite Catholic Patriarch also believes that this is happening and he is on the ground in Syria. Are you?

 

 

The reports are the the US is giving arms to subsets of rebel fighters.  Are they being passed around?  Maybe.  I don't know.  Do you have any evidence that they are?

[Apotheoun]

Right, Obama is the big driver in this war.  Not Assad or Russia, his largest arms dealer.  

Well, I can't do much about Assad or Russia, but as an American I can be angered by the warmongering of the American President. We should not be supporting either side in the Syrian civil war, and by our constant interference in the internal affairs of that country we will only create a situation that is even worse than what exists there now.

[4588686]

Well, I can't do much about Assad or Russia, but as an American I can be angered by the warmongering of the American President. We should not be supporting either side in the Syrian civil war, and by our constant interference in the internal affairs of that country we will only create a situation that is even worse than what exists there now.

 

 

That's fair.  

[Apotheoun]

The reports are the the US is giving arms to subsets of rebel fighters.  Are they being passed around?  Maybe.  I don't know.  Do you have any evidence that they are?

I have the word of the Melkite Catholic Patriarch, who has no reason to lie, and who probably should get a Nobel Peace Prize, but then - unlike Obama - he doesn't have a kill list.

 

Do you have any evidence that the various al Qaeda supported rebels do not have access to US weapons?

[Apotheoun]

Melkite Patriarch Gregory III Laham has said that the chaos being created by the American backed rebels in Syria will kill far more people than the purported chemical weapons attack back in August.

[Apotheoun]

The historic town of Ma'loula is a place where Christians and Muslims have lived together peacefully for centuries. That is now over thanks to the rebels.

[Didacus]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ustaše

 

What you point to I politically motivated, not religious.

 

For example (and there are many)

 

 Starčević declared his admiration for Bosniaks because in his view they were Croats who tactically had adopted Islam to preserve the economic and political autonomy of Bosnia and medieval Croatia under the rule of the Ottoman Empire.^[24]

Assuming a religious identity in order to preserve economic and political autonomy.

[4588686]

What you point to I politically motivated, not religious.

For example (and there are many)
Assuming a religious identity in order to preserve economic and political autonomy.

Are you denying that the Ustasi were Catholics? They certainly considered themselves such. They were Catholic extremists. Just apologize for your chauvinistic claim and we can all move on.

[Aloysius]

all the accusations for what the "real Islam" is from non-Muslims who cite the Koran is rather disingenuous, I think.  We don't believe in the Koran, we don't believe in Islam, and therefore we don't believe that there is such a thing as a "real Islam" and a "fake Islam".  The fact is that most Muslims are moderates in that regard, and many of them are just as afraid of the terrorist Muslims as you are.  If there are things in the Koran that espouse violence, there are plenty of clerics who don't interpret it that way and do not promote that kind of violence at all... and for those of us who don't believe the Koran is divinely inspired, that should really be good enough for us.

 

there are indeed Catholic extremists, and we would say that they are not following Catholicism correctly just as Muslims say the extremists are not following Islam correctly.  Since we believe in Catholicism, we do believe there's a real Catholicism that's being perverted by the extremists for their own political aims, but again, it doesn't matter so much what's real Islam is, it can be whatever they want it to be for all we care, if they want to say Mohammad was a space alien, it's not really our business, as we think they should abandon Mohammad for Christ regardless... but before they do that, if they want to promote a peaceful interpretation of the Koran, so much the better.

 

that said, I consider the majority of the Syrian Rebels to be extremists that we should not support.  I'd feel much better about the Assad regime retaining control over areas with Christian or Alawite Villages than I would feel about any of the rebels, even the mainstream elements of the Free Syrian Army, having control of them.

[4588686]

 

that said, I consider the majority of the Syrian Rebels to be extremists that we should not support.  I'd feel much better about the Assad regime retaining control over areas with Christian or Alawite Villages than I would feel about any of the rebels, even the mainstream elements of the Free Syrian Army, having control of them.

 

Why do you consider a majority of the Rebels extremists and why would you prefer the side that has committed a disproportionate share of the atrocities be in charge?

[Aloysius]

of the Christian and Alawite villages?  because they're the ones less likely to commit atrocities against them.

 

I've seen all sorts of differing stats on how many of the Syrian rebels are moderates, but the ones that suggest high numbers that I have seen have been shown to have been promoted by fraudulant sources, I think it's pretty clear that the moderates are intermingled with the extremists at this point, and themselves are becoming more and more extremist.  As I posted earlier in this thread, even the leadership of the Free Syrian Army has threatened wiping out whole Alawite villages.

[CatholicsAreKewl]

of the Christian and Alawite villages?  because they're the ones less likely to commit atrocities against them.

 

I've seen all sorts of differing stats on how many of the Syrian rebels are moderates, but the ones that suggest high numbers that I have seen have been shown to have been promoted by fraudulant sources, I think it's pretty clear that the moderates are intermingled with the extremists at this point, and themselves are becoming more and more extremist.  As I posted earlier in this thread, even the leadership of the Free Syrian Army has threatened wiping out whole Alawite villages.

 It's commonly assumed that the Alawites are going to be massacred or thrown out after Bashar is taken down. That's not necessarily for religious reasons. But yeah. I don't get why we argue about whether or not the groups we're supporting are extremists. No matter, the end result won't be peachy. 

Edited September 14, 2013 by CatholicsAreKewl

[Apotheoun]

. . . but the ones that suggest high numbers that I have seen have been shown to have been promoted by fraudulant sources . . . 

Are you talking about the woman who pretended to have a PhD? I think Senator McCain used her as a source for the situation in Syria.

[God the Father]

Well, I can't do much about Assad or Russia, but as an American I can be angered by the warmongering of the American President. We should not be supporting either side in the Syrian civil war, and by our constant interference in the internal affairs of that country we will only create a situation that is even worse than what exists there now.

 

This should be painfully obvious. It's a rerun of post-Saddam-pre-surge Iraq or the more recent upheavals in Libya and Egypt

Edited September 14, 2013 by God the Father

[Didacus]

This is untrue. Vegetarians can be extremists. Just look at the Animal Liberation Front. 

 

(snip)

There is a difference between not eating meat and trying to 'free animals'.