Syria

[rynnor]

Its annoying to see Cameron with Obama's hand up his arse behaving as the usual US puppet with no thoughts of his own.

 

[BloodOmen]

Its annoying to see Cameron with Obama's hand up his arse behaving as the usual US puppet with no thoughts of his own.

He wants to leave with Tony Blair success and riches that's why.

 

[Raven]

Cameron saying "I wont stand by over Syria" presumably that means he is going over there? ...Please?

 

[Aada]

On the flip side.. all those people fighting for Assad? they aren't sunni pigs and will be slaughtered once sunni pigs get power.

They have absolutely HATED being ruled by a minority for years and years.

 

[Chilly]

Well hopefully parliament will get a decent briefing from the foreign secretary later and will vote to stay the fuck at home.

 

[BloodOmen]

Doubt it

• The UN special envoy to Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, said it seemed clear some type of chemical substance was used "that killed a lot of people", in a briefing to journalists in Geneva

Based on that military action seems almost inevitable at this point regardless of what is said during upcoming debates, Assasd's fate is sealed pretty much, it's just a matter of time now (at least that's what I think anyway) either way it's either going to be an invasion that makes him flee/kills him with drone or air strikes or rebels will capture and kill him once it all kicks off.

I think Assad needs to pay/answer for his crimes if the information presented to the UN is 100% accurate without any shadow of doubt, another Iraq however is not something we need.

 

[rynnor]

They will launch some cruise missiles at something - problem is if you weaken the side thats winning a civil war you just extend said war which increases civilian casualties.

Stay the hell out is the best policy.

 

[Mabs]

yea lets not bother getting involved

its only some brown people in a country with no oil

....

 

[BloodOmen]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ted-son-thought-died-heartbreaking-video.html

Not everything is bad coming out of Syria at least

 

[rynnor]

yea lets not bother getting involved

its only some brown people in a country with no oil

The real world is not black and white - good guys v bad guys - whatever way it ends up will be bad.

 

[Mabs]

The real world is not black and white - good guys v bad guys - whatever way it ends up will be bad.

absolutely agree, but on balance, even "afghan/iraq bad" is better than "LOL CHEMICAL WEAPONS"

 

[Aada]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ted-son-thought-died-heartbreaking-video.html

Not everything is bad coming out of Syria at least

hopefully we will see some F22 Raptor action.

 

[Gwadien]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ted-son-thought-died-heartbreaking-video.html

Not everything is bad coming out of Syria at least

LOL

They shouldn't even be separated in the first place.

More decisive action should of happen a -long- time ago, shit UN.

 

[Aada]

God bless Merica.

 

[DaGaffer]

Doubt it

• The UN special envoy to Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, said it seemed clear some type of chemical substance was used "that killed a lot of people", in a briefing to journalists in Geneva

Based on that military action seems almost inevitable at this point regardless of what is said during upcoming debates, Assasd's fate is sealed pretty much, it's just a matter of time now (at least that's what I think anyway) either way it's either going to be an invasion that makes him flee/kills him with drone or air strikes or rebels will capture and kill him once it all kicks off.


I think Assad needs to pay/answer for his crimes if the information presented to the UN is 100% accurate without any shadow of doubt, another Iraq however is not something we need.

No way will the US be invading Syria. Air strikes possibly (although against who, fuck knows), but a ground invasion is a non-starter.

 

[Aada]

Syria has a fully functioning air force granted compared to the west out dated but it is functioning, I find it hard to believe Assad will stand by and watch as his country is invaded.

 

[rynnor]

absolutely agree, but on balance, even "afghan/iraq bad" is better than "LOL CHEMICAL WEAPONS"

If it happened - we seem to have jumped to aj conclusion then started planning based on that.

What's the rush? A week or two to confirm it seems reasonable before you start bombing people 'to teach them a lesson'.

 

[TdC]

from the book of face

 

[Job]

Never in the history of correct phrases for the job has the phrase 'nuke it from orbit..just to be sure' been so apt.

 

[Hawkwind]

Bit harsh. The French have sent peacekeepers to plenty of countries with fuck-all money or oil in the past, e.g. Rwanda. France's interest in Syria is at least partially post-colonial, meaning lots of second and third generation immigrants living in France.

Possibly, can't help myself sometimes But then I have had to work with quite a few over the years. Unbelievably bad work ethic in general, at least in the airline/aerospace sector.

 

[Hawkwind]

At least we've given Syria plenty of notice about cruise missile attacks. They should be able to put together a couple of schools or medical centers around key installations.

 

[Job]

Russian minister calls west a monkey with a grenade..nice racist dig at Obama.

 

[BloodOmen]

"President Obama 'sure Syria behind chemical attack'

US President Barack Obama says the US has concluded that the Syrian government carried out a chemical weapons attacks near Damascus.
He said the use of chemical weapons affected US national interests and sending a "shot across the bows" could have a positive impact on Syria's war.

But in the interview with PBS, said he had not yet made a decision about whether to intervene militarily."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-23875121

 

[Tom]

How did I know that's how you'd think about it? Sucking down the government line.

What proof do we have that Assad fired chemical weapons? Could just have easily have been the "rebels" - that we're arming btw.

It's not like we don't have a vested interest in Assad being ousted...

R5Live interviewed a CIA guy yesterday who claimed that the US had intercepted a telephone call, the contents of which were basically Assad ordering his chemical weapons people to do the dirty. And apparently, those people weren't convinced it was a good idea.

 

[rynnor]

R5Live interviewed a CIA guy yesterday who claimed that the US had intercepted a telephone call, the contents of which were basically Assad ordering his chemical weapons people to do the dirty. And apparently, those people weren't convinced it was a good idea.

And of course the CIA would never lie to further their own agenda.

If this was true why dont they produce the evidence? The public would immediatly back action.

 

[soze]

Being pro troop but anti war I absolutely positively believe we have no business there what so ever. Even more so because the way the current government has been cost cutting the army the last thing we need is another 10 year commitment to fighting a battle that is not ours.

If there is proof of this it needs to be sent to the UN and they need to take appropriate action, if there is proof but the UN do not act then the proof needs to be made public and UN will need to answer some questions.

Spoiler

 

[DaGaffer]

Being pro troop but anti war I absolutely positively believe we have no business there what so ever. Even more so because the way the current government has been cost cutting the army the last thing we need is another 10 year commitment to fighting a battle that is not ours.

If there is proof of this it needs to be sent to the UN and they need to take appropriate action, if there is proof but the UN do not act then the proof needs to be made public and UN will need to answer some questions.

Spoiler

Funny picture; shame its a fake.

 

[Aada]

Russia sending 2 warships to the area, including 1 anti sub destroyer.

 

[BloodOmen]

Indeed, another Iraq would be a disaster, I think we can all agree tho that if there is irrefutable evidence it was chemical weapons and it was Assad that ordered it then we can't just sit back and let them get on with it.

Other updates (taken from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-23877247 - live broadcasts going on about it atm)

Key Points

• British MPs will debate military action in Syria after the opposition blocked government plans for an early vote on intervention
• The White House is due to give senior US Congress members a classified briefing on why it is certain Syria has used chemical weapons
• UN weapons inspectors in Syria are expected to complete their investigations on Friday and leave Damascus on Saturday
• US President Barack Obama says he has not yet decided on a plan for retaliatory action against President Bashar al-Assad
• Syria has accused the West of "inventing" excuses to launch an attack and warned of "grave consequences" in case of a strike
• All times in GMT

1144:

Syrian forces appear to have evacuated most personnel from army headquarters in Damascus, residents and opposition sources have told Reuters. Witnesses say they have seen trucks at the cordoned-off entrance of several buildings, apparently transporting documents and light weapons.

1149:

Military intervention in Syria would be legal in the absence of a UN security council resolution explicitly authorising it, the UK government believes, because:

• there is convincing evidence of extreme humanitarian distress on a large scale;
• there is no practicable alternative to the use of force;
• and the proposed use of force is proportionate to the aim and strictly limited in time and scope.

1202:
The chairman of the UK government's Joint Intelligence Committee has dismissed claims - including from the Syrian government - that the chemical weapons attacks in Damascus on 21 August "were either faked or undertaken by the Syrian Armed Opposition". In a letter to the UK PM, committee chairman John Day said: "It is highly likely that the regime was responsible."

1224:

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has saidweapons inspectors will leave Damascus on Saturday and report their findings into the alleged chemical weapons attacks to him as soon as they return.

BBC Monitoring

analysis found that the Russian Twittersphere is largely hostile to the prospect of the West taking military action. Syria has also been one of the major talking points among Twitter users in the past few days. Veteran pro-Kremlin journalist Vitaliy Tretyakov called President Obama "a Nobel War Prize laureate". Top TV presenter Vladimir Solovyev raised the spectre of escalation: "To all appearances, any day now there will be war in Syria. Then Iran and then us? What should Russia do?"

1235:

Newspapers in the Middle East are growing increasingly convinced that a foreign attack on Syria is imminent, according to BBC Monitoring. "The chemical violation is enough justification to punish the regime", says Al-Hayat, a Saudi-owned newspaper. But Egypt's Al-Ahram says: "It is oil that speaks to the imagination of the West... What is happening in Syria is part of a new episode of colonialism, even if it is hidden under the guise of human rights."

1240:

Former UN chief weapons inspector Hans Blix has also weighed into the debate. "To punish the Assad government for using chemical weapons would be the action of self-appointed global policemen," he writes in the Guardian newspaper, "action that, in my view, would be very unwise."

 

[BloodOmen]

1257:
English-language Twitter posts in the last week reveal a shift in opinion against an attack on Syria, BBC Monitoring reports. The Crimson Hexagon social media analysis company found 62% of relevant posts were in favour of military intervention in the days immediately after the suspected chemical weapons attack, but that now 59% are opposed to military intervention.

1305:
The Speaker of the Syrian Parliament has said that Syria will sue those responsible in British courts if the UK attacks.