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To McCain: If You Don't Know Whom You're Taking Photos With, How Do You Know Whom You

TheDemSocialist

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[h=1]To McCain: If You Don't Know Whom You're Taking Photos With, How Do You Know Whom You're Arming?[/h]During a televised interview on Fox News, Arizona Senator John McCain was confronted by John Roberts who asked him what Kentucky Senator Rand Paul asked: "If you don't know whom you're taking photos with, how do you know whom your giving weapons to?" in reference to the fact that McCain met with the notorious kidnappers of 11 Lebanese Shiite pilgrims.

As expected, McCain answered with a typical lie that members of the "Free Syrian Army" (FSA) are brave and fighting for democracy, not that their commanders have openly stated their desire to implement Sharia, not that they have units called the "Osama bin Laden" brigade, etc


video @:
To McCain: If You Don't Know Whom You're Taking Photos With, How Do You Know Whom You're Arming? - YouTube

Way to side step the question. Way to not even answer the question Senator McCain. :dohI wonder if he knows that the majority of people now support the Syrian gov according to a recent poll?
 
Re: To McCain: If You Don't Know Whom You're Taking Photos With, How Do You Know Whom

I wonder if he knows that the majority of people now support the Syrian gov according to a recent poll?

Which poll? The one taken over a year ago that only polled 90 Syrians?

And I had no idea that the FSA leaders pledged their movement towards jihad or had a brigade named after Osama bin Laden. Why, that sounds like something that al-Nusra, who we're not supporting, would do.

As for the photo, only one of the hostages described the men in the photo as being his kidnappers. If the others are freed then we are more likely to know if his testimony is true.
 
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Re: To McCain: If You Don't Know Whom You're Taking Photos With, How Do You Know Whom

Which poll?
This poll: NATO data: Assad winning the war for Syrians’ hearts and minds | World Tribune
The one taken over a year ago that only polled 90 Syrians?
And no. Over the last month.

And I had no idea that the FSA leaders pledged their movement towards jihad or had a brigade named after Osama bin Laden. Why, that sounds like something that al-Nusra, who we're not supporting, would do.
Nope thats the FSA
FSA has 'Osama bin Laden' Brigade | Military.com

As for the photo, only one of the hostages described the men in the photo as being his kidnappers. If the others are freed then we are more likely to know if his testimony is true.
Two of those men are part of a group who kidnapped 11 Shias last year in Lebannon.
 
Re: To McCain: If You Don't Know Whom You're Taking Photos With, How Do You Know Whom

Your source itself admits that they didn't get their data from a poll, but rather from "independent activist organizations." In the confusion of the wartime situation and the lack of evidence or number of Syrians polled, I find these results to be questionable.

Well, we can easily solve that problem. Make abandoning jihad rhetoric a requirement for receiving aid packages from the US, and I'll bet that the "Osama bin Laden Brigade" will cease to exist as a part of the FSA.

Two of those men are part of a group who kidnapped 11 Shias last year in Lebannon.

Only one of the hostages identified those men as his kidnappers. Innocent until proven guilty, right?
 
Re: To McCain: If You Don't Know Whom You're Taking Photos With, How Do You Know Whom

Your source itself admits that they didn't get their data from a poll, but rather from "independent activist organizations."
That is how the data was compiled. NATO has been studying it and produced the numbers to the public.

In the confusion of the wartime situation and the lack of evidence or number of Syrians polled, I find these results to be questionable.
I am also waiting for the study itself.


Well, we can easily solve that problem. Make abandoning jihad rhetoric a requirement for receiving aid packages from the US, and I'll bet that the "Osama bin Laden Brigade" will cease to exist as a part of the FSA.
Yea... That still doesnt solve the problem of them still floating around. We can make all the requirements on paper we want but they can easily still flow to various groups, especially for $$$..


Only one of the hostages identified those men as his kidnappers. Innocent until proven guilty, right?
And also the family members of the hostages. Only one has been able to identify him because he has been released.
 
Re: To McCain: If You Don't Know Whom You're Taking Photos With, How Do You Know Whom

Yea... That still doesnt solve the problem of them still floating around. We can make all the requirements on paper we want but they can easily still flow to various groups, especially for $$$..

We have them floating around here in the US, in Europe and everywhere in the world. No corner is free from terrorists of one sort or another. Why do you hold the US responsible for eliminating terrorism in Syria? The West is merely trying to promote human rights and democracy. No one promised the Syrians an externally established utopia.

The assumption that it falls upon the West to create utopia in Syria (or elsewhere) is an astoundingly flawed premise.
 
Re: To McCain: If You Don't Know Whom You're Taking Photos With, How Do You Know Whom

We have them floating around here in the US, in Europe and everywhere in the world. No corner is free from terrorists of one sort or another. Why do you hold the US responsible for eliminating terrorism in Syria? The West is merely trying to promote human rights and democracy. No one promised the Syrians an externally established utopia.

The assumption that it falls upon the West to create utopia in Syria (or elsewhere) is an astoundingly flawed premise.

Yea... We are tying to "promote human rights and democracy"... Good one. We are dong that by giving arms to a group that has strong connections to an Al Qaeada affiliated group, and by giving arms to another group prolonging a long drawn out civil war..
 
Re: To McCain: If You Don't Know Whom You're Taking Photos With, How Do You Know Whom

Yea... We are tying to "promote human rights and democracy"... Good one.


Oh, yeah, such a laugh. So, what do you do?
 
Re: To McCain: If You Don't Know Whom You're Taking Photos With, How Do You Know Whom

Oh, yeah, such a laugh. So, what do you do?

What do i do? I go to work, go to school, pay my taxes, read, and relax. What do you do?
 
Re: To McCain: If You Don't Know Whom You're Taking Photos With, How Do You Know Whom

The Free Syria Army is a bit of a useless phrase, it implies that all or most of the rebels are acting under some kind of central authority and structure. However that's not the case at all, at best it describes a loose alliance of numerous groups which don't share the same post-war aims but all agree they want to get rid of Assad. You can't say the Free Syria Army is X Y and Z because it refers to such wholly different groups.

Daily chart: Who's who in Syria's battlefield | The Economist

Its like talking about the mujahideen during the Afghan-Soviet War, many sources and 'experts' will talk about them as if they were all one big group fighting together against the Soviets when in reality besides killing Soviets they really shared no goals and often fought each other just as often as the Russians. You can't really say the "mujahideen are X" because not all mujahideen are X. And just like the mujahideen, once or if the war begins to draw to a close and Assad is about to be defeated these various rebel groups are going to turn on each other outright and then there will be a whole new civil war on our hands.

The United States and the rest of the world can take actions to prevent this, namely by building up one group so much that it simply outclasses the others, or working a diplomatic solution although those are often just ignored by the groups that don't benefit from them. I'm no expert on Syria or this conflict but I do know that the US should leverage its power to ensure the best out come possible and that the real decisions will have to be made by the commanders of these various groups assuming they end up winning outright in the end.
 
Re: To McCain: If You Don't Know Whom You're Taking Photos With, How Do You Know Whom

Which poll? The one taken over a year ago that only polled 90 Syrians?

And I had no idea that the FSA leaders pledged their movement towards jihad or had a brigade named after Osama bin Laden. Why, that sounds like something that al-Nusra, who we're not supporting, would do.

As for the photo, only one of the hostages described the men in the photo as being his kidnappers. If the others are freed then we are more likely to know if his testimony is true.




But if they die, we may never know for sure, eh?
 
Re: To McCain: If You Don't Know Whom You're Taking Photos With, How Do You Know Whom

Your source itself admits that they didn't get their data from a poll, but rather from "independent activist organizations." In the confusion of the wartime situation and the lack of evidence or number of Syrians polled, I find these results to be questionable.


Well, we can easily solve that problem. Make abandoning jihad rhetoric a requirement for receiving aid packages from the US, and I'll bet that the "Osama bin Laden Brigade" will cease to exist as a part of the FSA.



Only one of the hostages identified those men as his kidnappers. Innocent until proven guilty, right?




Or until terminated with extreme prejudice by a drone strike.
 
Re: To McCain: If You Don't Know Whom You're Taking Photos With, How Do You Know Whom

What do i do? I go to work, go to school, pay my taxes, read, and relax. What do you do?

I promote human rights and democracy, get with the program.
 
Re: To McCain: If You Don't Know Whom You're Taking Photos With, How Do You Know Whom

I promote human rights and democracy, get with the program.
As do I.. Point being?
 
Re: To McCain: If You Don't Know Whom You're Taking Photos With, How Do You Know Whom

We have them floating around here in the US, in Europe and everywhere in the world. No corner is free from terrorists of one sort or another. Why do you hold the US responsible for eliminating terrorism in Syria? The West is merely trying to promote human rights and democracy. No one promised the Syrians an externally established utopia.

The assumption that it falls upon the West to create utopia in Syria (or elsewhere) is an astoundingly flawed premise.




I don't see it as the West's job, Let Syria and the region clean up it's own mess.
 
Re: To McCain: If You Don't Know Whom You're Taking Photos With, How Do You Know Whom

Yeah, sure.



You agreed, as expected.

Or i was just being sarcastic, hence i said "yea good one".
 
Re: To McCain: If You Don't Know Whom You're Taking Photos With, How Do You Know Whom

Or i was just being sarcastic, hence i said "yea good one".

You believe that a significant portion of US foreign policy and war motivation is to spread human rights and democracy?
 
Re: To McCain: If You Don't Know Whom You're Taking Photos With, How Do You Know Whom

You believe that a significant portion of US foreign policy and war motivation is to spread human rights and democracy?

No. Not at all.
 
Re: To McCain: If You Don't Know Whom You're Taking Photos With, How Do You Know Whom

Then you were not being sarcastic.

No i was being sarcastic saying ,"We are tying to "promote human rights and democracy"." That is why after that i said "...yea good one" to implicate sarcasm.
 
Re: To McCain: If You Don't Know Whom You're Taking Photos With, How Do You Know Whom

No i was being sarcastic saying ,"We are tying to "promote human rights and democracy"." That is why after that i said "...yea good one" to implicate sarcasm.

I quoted the ~"yeah good one" part. But you claim to promote human rights and justice. Do you think you're the only one?
 
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