The Syria Crisis

[Ridwan]

Originally Posted by ganbaru

Exclusive: Russia backs Annan idea of Syria unity government: envoys
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/...85Q1TE20120628

I told you.

[killer3000ad]

Syria:Bodies of missing downed Turkish F4 pilots found

[Vexx]

Amusing headline for a terrible situation --- Red Cross assault troops on the move?

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/...ia?ft=1&f=1001

[ganbaru]

Originally Posted by Vexx

Amusing headline for a terrible situation --- Red Cross assault troops on the move?

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/...ia?ft=1&f=1001

They are just more honest than most organisation; the fact than they aren't a part of the UN might help...

[AnimeFan188]

Pilot’s escape from Syria illustrates difficulty of defecting:

"When helicopter pilot Ahmad Trad decided he wanted to defect from the Syrian air
force earlier this year, he realized it wasn’t going to be easy. His Damascus air base
was closely monitored, he was sure his phone was tapped and he suspected that
one in every three of his colleagues was spying for the government.

He also confronted the dilemma that he and other defectors say is the biggest
deterrent to those who would like to abandon the Syrian regime but have not yet
dared: the safety of his family. Slipping away from his base was one thing, but it
was just as important for Trad, 30, to make sure his relatives would not be targeted
for revenge attacks once he was gone."

See:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/...HjW_story.html

[Pokaru]

Originally Posted by AnimeFan188

Pilot’s escape from Syria illustrates difficulty of defecting:

"When helicopter pilot Ahmad Trad decided he wanted to defect from the Syrian air
force earlier this year, he realized it wasn’t going to be easy. His Damascus air base
was closely monitored, he was sure his phone was tapped and he suspected that
one in every three of his colleagues was spying for the government.

He also confronted the dilemma that he and other defectors say is the biggest
deterrent to those who would like to abandon the Syrian regime but have not yet
dared: the safety of his family. Slipping away from his base was one thing, but it
was just as important for Trad, 30, to make sure his relatives would not be targeted
for revenge attacks once he was gone."

See:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/...HjW_story.html

And yet he successfully escaped, I think he's pretty good. If it was me, I would be too worried for my family that I wouldn't be able to do it.

[Ridwan]

Syria: You know you’re in Trouble When…

[AnimeFan188]

Syria’s Collapse Could Be a Chem Weapon Nightmare:

"What’s worse than a power-mad dictator with weapons of mass destruction? A
power-mad dictator who may be about to lose them. This is the situation the
world may soon be forced to face in Syria as the Assad regime begins to crack. It
is a potential nightmare that ultimately might lead to the use and proliferation of
WMDs across the region.

Despite the rhetoric coming out of Washington, there are no easy solutions to the
problem, and beyond the tragic possibility of actual WMD use, how this plays out
in the near term could have deep strategic consequences by strengthening the
resolve of other nations like Iran to acquire or retain WMDs.

How bad is it? Earlier in the year, reports surfaced out of the Pentagon that it
might take up to 75,000 troops to handle Syria’s illicit arsenal. And that’s one of
the better scenarios. In the last few days open source reports indicated that the
Assad regime is moving Syria’s chemical weapons from their storage locations.
This has fueled speculation about possible use against rebel forces and stoked
fears of regional proliferation."

See:

http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2012/07/syria/

[Alchemist007]

If only scientific advancement wasn't correlated with weapons, we might have a better civilization. I suppose that comes down to the way humans work since the one with the better weapons has the power. A shame.

[SaintessHeart]

Originally Posted by Alchemist007

If only scientific advancement wasn't correlated with weapons, we might have a better civilization. I suppose that comes down to the way humans work since the one with the better weapons has the power. A shame.

Without World War 2 we wouldn't have air travel. Jet engines remember?

I think today's musical industry is a good indicator of how humans think; if we are not on the brink of death, we wouldn't have bothered to further invent things for ourselves.

And the lack of real competition is killing the musical industry, and they are simply wallowing in their own suicide pills.

[AnimeFan188]

Syrian President Assad will use chemical weapons: Top defector:

"Syrian President Bashar al-Assad will use chemical weapons against opposition
forces and may have already deployed them, Nawaf Fares, the first Syrian
ambassador to defect, told the BBC on Monday.

Fares, the most prominent politician to defect since the uprising against Assad
began, insisted that the president's days were numbered but warned he would
be prepared "to eradicate the entire Syrian people" to remain in power."

See:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/w...w/15016589.cms


---------------------------------------------------------------------------


Jordan moving to ward off Syrian chemical attack:

"Jordan has taken precautions to ward off a possible Syrian chemical attack,
Jordan's foreign minister said Tuesday, reflecting concern that Syria might use
such weapons if the uprising there threatens the regime."

See:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/htm...rdansyria.html

[SaintessHeart]

Germany could easily create jobs in the financially unsound EU member states by asking them to manufacture giant blade fans, sell to the Mideast and blow that fart back at the Ass(ad).

[Vallen Chaos Valiant]

I still doesn't understand why the big deal with Chemical/Bio weapons. I know that the UN has banned them, but in essence they are just what you use to kill. Yes, people can use them for terrorist attacks, but they are far harder to deploy and spread than just put pipebombs everywhere.

An arbitrary rule. I understand the argument for it, I just don't see the fuss.

[Alchemist007]

Inhumane killing method. Torturous.

[Ithekro]

More likely because it is more indiscriminate than most weapons...and can be shifted easily by the wind, or spread to unintended populations for biological weapons.

Mustard gas was made illegal not only for its effects, but also because if could just as easily kill your own troops if the winds shifted as it could kill the enemy.

Bombs and the like can kill unintended people as well, but are not as random as biological and chemical weapons.

Nuclear weapons are just extremely wide ranging weapons that also can kill unintended victims by radiation fallout and shifting winds.

[JMvS]

Kinda like Nukes, only the US are allowed to use them.

[Vallen Chaos Valiant]

Originally Posted by Alchemist007

Inhumane killing method. Torturous.

Arbitrary line. There is no humane way to brutally murder someone. And torture isn't illegal anymore in any case. As I say, I see the argument, it just doesn't seem very realistic.

[ganbaru]

I wounder if that would be enough to change Russia's and China's stance on a possible international intervention.

[Ridwan]

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middle...355415804.html

The Beginning of The End, it seems.

[Ithekro]

Russia, China veto UN Syria sanctions; US calls vote regrettable

http://worldnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news...grettable?lite

Russia and China vetoed a Western-backed U.N. Security Council resolution on Thursday that threatened Syrian authorities with sanctions if they did not stop using heavy weapons against an uprising and withdraw troops from towns and cities.

The 11-2 vote was the third time that Russia, a key ally of the Syrian government, and China have used their veto power to block U.N. Security Council resolutions designed to put pressure on Syrian President Bashar Assad and halt the violence in the 16-month conflict that has killed thousands of people.

...

The 11-2 vote, with abstentions from South Africa and Pakistan, was the third double veto by Russia and China of a resolution addressing the Syria crisis. The two countries are Damascus' most important allies.

...

The veto came as fighting continued in Syria. Among key developments Thursday:

• Syrian rebel fighters took over the Bab al-Hawa gate, a vital commercial Turkish border crossing, and seized control of the customs and immigration buildings on the Syrian side of the northern frontier, a rebel fighter and a spokesman said.
• Rebels attacked the main police headquarters in Damascus on Thursday, a witness said, a day after the assassination of three of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's top lieutenants. "Gunfire has been intense for the past hour. It is now dying down but the streets around the police command remain empty," a resident of Qanawat, an old central district where the Damascus Province Police Headquarters is located, told Reuters by phone.
• About 20,000 Syrians traveled across the main border crossing into Lebanon in the day since fighting tore through several districts of Damascus, a Lebanese security source working at the border said. The number of Syrians, many of them day-workers, who travel through the official Masnaa border crossing usually hovers around 5,000 per day, the source said.

That isn't surprising, but I do find the news tends to not get information on why China and Russia veto from their officials.