Assad is no different from Sadaam or Mubarak in that they all rule/ruled with an iron fist from a minority base without religious basis in a secular manner and protected religious minorities within their borders provided those religious minorities did not disrupt the regime or target others. It is why America was able to support such terrible people at various times throughout the last half-century and why there's trouble in their countries when America abandons support for them. Without the savage dictator holding down the religious zealots, all hell is breaking loose in these countries as the fanatics slaughter each other in the name of a loving, peaceful god.
For this reason, if for no other, America should keep it's military as far away as possible while they fight it out amongst themselves - you will get no credit for intervening and you will get all of the blame for anything that goes wrong.
What you've described is exactly what we saw in the Balkans with the collapse of the Soviet Union.Assad is no different from Sadaam or Mubarak in that they all rule/ruled with an iron fist from a minority base without religious basis in a secular manner and protected religious minorities within their borders provided those religious minorities did not disrupt the regime or target others. It is why America was able to support such terrible people at various times throughout the last half-century and why there's trouble in their countries when America abandons support for them. Without the savage dictator holding down the religious zealots, all hell is breaking loose in these countries as the fanatics slaughter each other in the name of a loving, peaceful god.
For this reason, if for no other, America should keep it's military as far away as possible while they fight it out amongst themselves - you will get no credit for intervening and you will get all of the blame for anything that goes wrong.
As for Iran, that's no more a problem than Syria is.
Hey, I've got an idea. Why don't we take our army and help those guys. Jesus, what have we become?
What you've described is exactly what we saw in the Balkans with the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Not true, in my view - Iran has been trying to destablize the entire middle east for decades and its quds force is active in many countries outside Iran causing problems. Syria has never been active outside its borders on that level.
Good evening, CJ! :2wave:
:agree: I don't understand those who feel we need to get involved. While I understand that when you make threats, you should be able to back them up, but nobody on this planet thinks that the US couldn't turn Syria into a sea of glass if we so chose to do so! We look like bullies picking on a weak kid, and that is no way to handle this problem, IMO. :thumbdown: No wonder our allies are not behind us this time!
Whom?Then we should attack...
If that's true and Canada considers that Iran causing trouble in their region threatens them, then do what you've got to do.
Whom?
Campaigning is his forte. Without that, he's hard pressed at present to identify an actual policy success. What worries me is his ability to foster a real constitutional crisis in this thing.Good evening Lady P.
Canada supports the US in this action, although not militarily because we lack the weapons systems needed in the planned attack. That said, most US allies problem is with Obama, not the US, in my view, and his lack of leadership and strength of character. The way he weaseled out of the "red line" statement last week was pathetic for the leader of the free world, a total embarrassment.
I think Obama is making a further mistake by speaking on Tuesday - I see no good coming from this - as I've said before, Obama is irrelevant now and he would be best served keeping quiet for 3 years, rack up the golf rounds, entertain the Hollywood types, and ride off in January 2017 as a terrible President and hope people forget his 8 disasterous years.
Yes CJ I have said similar before and truly don't mean any disrespect by it. But America is BBRROOKKEE and we are tired of this ****. It just can't be our deal anymore.You've said that frequently to me, or words to that effect. They'd have some basis to rely upon if Canada was professing to be the world's police force or the world's only superpower, etc. That's not our role, never has been, never will be - the Canadian people aren't in that game. We are, however, strong and loyal friends and we've stood beside the US on most occasions, even when the US has been foolish or rash, but most people in the world see Canada as a force for good and not a meddling force that likes to throw its weight around.
Much as I detest the UN, Canada sees its role in that body as the way to effect change in Iran and other places in the world. You'll never find Canada leading an offensive but we'll always be there when it comes to defending those attacked - we've been there defending the displaced and refugees from Syria the past 2 plus years.
Not all good ideas or reasonable advice/proposals need come from threats of military intervention or violence.
I dunno. I'd say Rhode Island because I think we can take 'em, but I think we should keep our powder dry right now.Almost everybody...
I dunno. I'd say Rhode Island because I think we can take 'em, but I think we should keep our powder dry right now.
Yes CJ I have said similar before and truly don't mean any disrespect by it. But America is BBRROOKKEE and we are tired of this ****. It just can't be our deal anymore.
Right now, our ships are in port and our planes are on the ground due to funding inadequacies. Before we engage anybody, we should seriously consider correcting that. Japan and South Korea are rapidly increasing their defense funding to fill the perceived vacuum while facing and expansionist China. This little escapade is all about Iran. The time to have moved against Iran was a few years back, in my pedestrian view. That's not to say we shouldn't take Iran out, but it will require a bit more than we can muster at present unless we resort to nukes. Any action we take at present is a green light for adventurism by other players in other regions.Dictatorships... we'll leave places like that for later... Dictators though? We should attack them all.
You'll not find a post of mine where I suggest otherwise. I've said from the start that the time for US involvement in Syria passed about 2 years ago and it's a lost cause now and no good can come from a stupid 2 or 3 days of bombing Syrian targets and then going home. It won't end well.
Right now, our ships are in port and our planes are on the ground due to funding inadequacies. Before we engage anybody, we should seriously consider correcting that. Japan and South Korea are rapidly increasing their defense funding to fill the perceived vacuum while facing and expansionist China. This little escapade is all about Iran. The time to have moved against Iran was a few years back, in my pedestrian view. That's not to say we shouldn't take Iran out, but it will require a bit more than we can muster at present unless we resort to nukes. Any action we take at present is a green light for adventurism by other players in other regions.
Right now, our ships are in port and our planes are on the ground due to funding inadequacies. Before we engage anybody, we should seriously consider correcting that. Japan and South Korea are rapidly increasing their defense funding to fill the perceived vacuum while facing and expansionist China. This little escapade is all about Iran. The time to have moved against Iran was a few years back, in my pedestrian view. That's not to say we shouldn't take Iran out, but it will require a bit more than we can muster at present unless we resort to nukes. Any action we take at present is a green light for adventurism by other players in other regions.
Defending Christian villages why didn't anyone say anything before? Crack on with those WMDs Assad give those Muslims hell....
I've been watching those increases all the way along. We've cut our military in favor of maintaining entitlement spending. We're giving our military a 1% pay increase, which is an additional slap in the face to those serving. I will never say we can't cut military spending in some areas - but to cut as we have and then to propose additional action is foolhardy in the extreme. Now, this little Syrian adventure, which is largely pointless, is just pushing to far for an outcome that we truly can't predict. This is not the Balkans. There will be a reaction and we can be touched.A simple google search will find you plenty of information on both Russia and Chinas recent and SHARP increase in military spending. I mean real sharp. Both in the last ten years and many analysts view it as a distaste for US aggression that seems perennial. If you look at both countries military power today as compared to a decade ago, huge differences. If US ever provokes either or both at the same time as we are somewhat seeing now with respect to Syria, nothing will be a slam dunk.
I don't disagree, but we are globally involved whether we like it or not. The problem is that we see interests where there aren't any worth the effort. Syria is one such place. We missed the window of opportunity. We should forget it now. We blew it. Yeah, the chemical weapons are a problem. They just aren't our problem right this minute. As Obama said, it's the world's problem. We are not the world. We can make one big problem for the rest of the world, though.We shouldn't be engaging anybody at all that is not a direct and present danger to the United States... not our interests abroad but the USA itself.
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