August 27, 2013 at 10:33 am
http://news.sky.com/story/1133533/syria-uk-draws-up-plans-for-military-action
By: 1batfastard - 12th December 2013 at 08:39
Hi All,
I saw an interview recently with a Syrian fighter he has said that the whole thing now is a waste of time basically, the whole aim has gone because of the influx of the jihady’s and their own agenda even in fighting amongst themselves like a mini war within a larger one.
In my mind they should just abandon the fight as the latest thing is the US and UK are now withholding aid to the Syrian rebels strange really as these are the country’s that backed them in the first place. :stupid:
Geoff.
By: Creaking Door - 11th December 2013 at 15:41
Blimey, remember this little local difficulty…
…apparently the United States and United Kingdom have suspended ‘non-lethal’ military aid to the Syrian Rebels:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-25331241
Who will be first to say ‘I told-you-so’?
I almost didn’t notice this with all the fuss about Nelson Mandela. 😉
By: charliehunt - 18th September 2013 at 16:33
Indeed it is. And I posted this a couple of days ago as it confirms what we have been saying. And he should know!!
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/10309308/Syria-Assad-cannot-be-trusted-on-any-chemical-weapons-promises-says-his-former-diplomat.html
By: Creaking Door - 18th September 2013 at 16:19
A very interesting article…..and spot-on if you ask me!
It will require lots of boots-on-the-ground to (quickly) ensure a hand-over of 1000 tonnes of chemical-weapons. Assad will only cooperate enough to stop the bombs falling on him; he has backed-himself into a corner but with Russia standing-guard and the US (or anybody else) unwilling to go in after him this will take years.
Meanwhile Obama, Putin, Hollande and Cameron all have elections to worry about.
By: charliehunt - 18th September 2013 at 15:52
Ah, that’s much better. So they are all smugly satisfied and nothing has changed since the middle of August!!
This is an interesting piece on the relationships between providers and their client states.
By: Creaking Door - 18th September 2013 at 15:40
…and now apparently we are congratulating ourselves on a ‘peaceful solution’ with an (alleged) war-criminal!
I am not so sure……all I have been reading and hearing is frustration that the UN are too lily-livered to finger the criminal and deep distrust of Assad, who most think will be running rings around the UN and the rest of us in its name for the next decade or so.
Maybe I should have phrased that differently…
…Obama is congratulating himself because he has salvaged something of his reputation after going out on a limb with his ‘red line’ threat…
…Putin is congratulating himself because he has saved his ally Assad after Assad used chemical-weapons on civilians…
…and Hollande is congratulating himself because France is centre stage and anything that takes pressure off how desperately unpopular he is in France has to be welcomed!
And Assad is congratulating himself because he used chemical-weapons and seems to have got-away with it.
By: charliehunt - 17th September 2013 at 09:16
Yup – that’s probably not so far from the truth……these are all diplomatic stitch-ups anyway and convince no one – at least only the gullible.
By: trumper - 17th September 2013 at 09:10
By the time Assad has been through every legal loophole /human right /fair trial type argument and lawyers quite happy to keep the money rolling in we will be so fed up and he will have died of old age.
By: charliehunt - 17th September 2013 at 08:43
[QUOTE=Creaking Door;2066108
…and now apparently we are congratulating ourselves on a ‘peaceful solution’ with an (alleged) war-criminal!
[/QUOTE]
Really – are we?? I am not so sure……all I have been reading and hearing is frustration that the UN are too lily-livered to finger the criminal and deep distrust of Assad, who most think will be running rings around the UN and the rest of us in its name for the next decade or so.
By: Creaking Door - 17th September 2013 at 08:33
Ah yes, that’s right…..and we are open to the idea of dialogue with the Taliban in Afghanistan…
…and now apparently we are congratulating ourselves on a ‘peaceful solution’ with an (alleged) war-criminal!
Still, the important thing is that…er…now what was it again?
By: charliehunt - 17th September 2013 at 07:23
Snap!!
By: paul178 - 17th September 2013 at 07:06
Unfortunately yes Charlie. If I had my way they would still be in H blocks competing for Bobby Sands title of”Slimmer of the Year!”
By: charliehunt - 17th September 2013 at 06:06
“….because we don’t make deals with terrorists, right?”
We seemed to have managed to do so in Northern Ireland.
By: trumper - 16th September 2013 at 22:33
But we have some principals…..because we don’t make deals with terrorists, right?
Terrorist or freedom fighter ,depends on your point of view.
By: Creaking Door - 16th September 2013 at 22:14
But we have some principals…..because we don’t make deals with terrorists, right?
By: charliehunt - 16th September 2013 at 19:08
Since they haven’t laid the blame at anyone’s door, we are unlikely to find one!!
http://interactive.news.sky.com/PDF/Syria%20UN%20chemical%20weapons%20report.pdf
By: Creaking Door - 16th September 2013 at 19:02
The UN has confirmed the use of sarin gas in Syria and Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon calls it a ‘war crime’:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-24113553
All we need now is a war-criminal!
By: charliehunt - 15th September 2013 at 15:44
Well I suppose he knows better than most……
By: charliehunt - 14th September 2013 at 19:57
Indeed so, although in this case the vitriol was against each other.
By: Creaking Door - 14th September 2013 at 19:50
Did you see the Sky report from the front line in Damascus a couple of days ago? Assad soldiers and opposition shooting at each down the same street where they had been peaceful neighbours a few months ago. Sheer madness!
And this a sectarian conflict at its roots.
What always occurs to me when looking at that sort of news footage is the vitriol that certain extremists exhibit towards ‘the West’, ‘the Jews’ or Atheists and then I see the violence in Syria (or Iraq, Iran-Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya or Egypt)…
…these guys are all Muslims…..if this is how they treat each other, what chance has anybody else got?