Syrian Civil War Developments

[tankie]

POTUS on sky news has just stated that US boots on the ground will be good for Syria and the USA ,,,no mention of its allies tho :whome:

[Doktor]

Whose boots? US? ;)

[Doktor]

Carter's adviser has spoken, too.

Obama's Syria Problem: 'We Didn't Have a Strategy'

In a SPIEGEL interview, former United States National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski, 85, discusses President Barack Obama's tepid response to the civil war in Syria and allegations that chemical weapons have been deployed in the country.

SPIEGEL: Mr. Brzezinski, you always plead for a foreign policy strategy that combines the national interests of the United States with a moral cause. Applying that concept to Syria, what would you suggest?

Brzezinski: I am sad to say that I am one of those who have been saying that there is not much we can do at this stage. This is the reality we have to face. The United States got off to a bad start when the violence erupted. President Barack Obama went on the air and, in schoolmaster fashion, announced that Assad has to leave. It was a wonderful idea, but Assad did not oblige. Did Obama have a plan for making him go? Not really. We went to the United Nations with a resolution designed to force Assad to leave, but we did not consult with the Russians and the Chinese. When they blocked it, we condemned them through the mouth of our ambassador to the UN as being infantile, which is not the way to recruit their support. In brief, we did not have a strategy. The only strategy of significant impact would have been to organize a military invasion.
SPIEGEL: Was this another example of the discrepancy between President Obama's rhetoric and policies?

Brzezinski: In this particular case, it was not even rhetoric. It was just a flat schoolmaster-type statement without a strategy for its implementation.

SPIEGEL: Israel claimed last week it could prove that the Syrian government has deployed chemical weapons. Great Britain and France have also given similar warnings. On Thursday, United States Secretary of Defence Chuck Hagel said the army had in fact used small amounts of chemical weapons. If he did, then Assad would have crossed a red line drawn by President Obama this past summer. Will the US now be forced to intervene?

Brzezinski: If use by the Assad regime of chemical weapons is confirmed, we should try to see if China and Russia might then support a UN resolution proposing internationally supervised elections in which everyone could seek the presidency. It would be a face-saving solution which Assad would probably reject. Then China and Russia might finally endorse collective action.

SPIEGEL: Do you see an opportunity of convincing Russian President Vladimir Putin to let Assad fall?

Brzezinski: In the case of Syria, there is not only Russia, but also Iran, which is not insignificant. And in the background is China, which is not sympathetic to what we are doing, in part because of its concern for stability of access to Middle Eastern energy sources.
SPIEGEL: Are you saying that the situation in Syria is too complex to intervene?

Brzezinski: "Complex" is an understatement. It is an incredibly messy situation. Until the recent reporting by David Ignatius of the Washington Post, I have not read a serious analysis or description which would give you a breakdown of the nature of the various resistance groups. We know that some of them are Salafists who have the support of the Saudis. We know that groups from Iraq are involved, we know that the Kurds are involved, and we know that a significant number of Syrian refugees flee to Turkey. The point is that it is a comprehensive mess in the context of which you are not in the position to make good choices. Simply plunging into the unknown would not be all that wise. And if we did it anyway, who would be on our side?

Interview conducted by Marc Hujer and Gerhard Spoerl

Former US National Security Advisor Brzezinski on Syrian Chemical Weapons - SPIEGEL ONLINE

[tbm3fan]

What a f*&%ing mess this is.

Personally I just want us to stay as far away from this as possible. I am sick and tired on nation building, whatever the hell that means. All it seems to do is open a pandora's box full of very nasty hornets.

I feel for those in Syria who want a better government. Do I think it is possible for them to get it? No. Would I commit US troops? Oh, hell no!

Hate to say it but at the present time I feel more comfortable with Assad in control than anyone of the other unknowns in control of the country. He is the known entity who is not a threat to other countries around him. Known is good. The others are all unknowns with many different unknown agendas. Nothing they say means anything since you never know what you are really going to get till the dust of a civil war settles. Could be good but many times bad for the surrounding countries. Libya, Egypt and Iraq are no shining examples.

Call me heartless, but sometimes a better outcome is just not attainable. Right now Syria is a swirling vortex internally and no one should want to get sucked into that. Besides the whole place may go to hell in a hand basket whether we are involved or not. A lose lose situation.

[1980s]

POTUS on sky news has just stated that US boots on the ground will be good for Syria and the USA ,,,no mention of its allies tho :whome:

I dont see how or why will that be a good thing for either Syria or the US. Its an Arab war, i say let the Arabs resolve it in their own way. The US wont be able to control them and determine the future of Syria. Iraq is enough of a reason why the US should not intervene.

[Doktor]

POTUS on sky news has just stated that US boots on the ground will be good for Syria and the USA ,,,no mention of its allies tho :whome:

NO boots...

Obama says does not foresee sending U.S. troops to Syria | Reuters

[tbm3fan]

POTUS on sky news has just stated that US boots on the ground will be good for Syria and the USA ,,,no mention of its allies tho :whome:

Think you have that backwards. Your post was one of the first to pop up on my email updates and I said "hell, no!" So I went to CNN and it seems someone left out the first part of his sentence. Scaring me there. I was all set to let fly some letters

"As a general rule, I don't rule things out as commander-in-chief because circumstances change," Obama said during a joint news conference with President Laura Chinchilla of Costa Rica, where the president stopped during a three-day visit to the region.

"...Having said that, I do not foresee a scenario in which boots on the ground in Syria, American boots on the ground in Syria, would be good for America or be good for Syria."

Obama: 'Do not foresee scenario' of American boots on ground in Syria - CNN.com

[Minskaya]

For the second time in two days, Israel has attacked a target within Syria. Western reports say a shipment of Iranian Fatah-110 medium range missiles bound for Hezbollah was destroyed at a depot close to Damascus Airport. The Syrian news agency SANA reported that the target was the Jamraya scientific research centre in Damascus. The video snippet below from Syria allegedly depicts a portion of the recent Israeli attack.

[Mihais]

And this way,everybody is happily keeping fighting .Israel removed some missiles,which will be of course replaced sooner or later(weeks or months).Assad and Hezbollah can say the Zionists and the Al Qaea terrorists are clearly together in their vile plot.And the Jihadists,well,they at least got somebody bombing Assad,although it's doubtful those missiles would have been fired at them.They also have the Arab street(those that's not in revolutionary mood yet) questioning their governments part in said Zionist plot.
Now,that's a deal.

[Minskaya]

As PM Netanyahu and the IDF have reiterated repeatedly, the Israeli red-lines regarding Syria are chemical weapons and/or sophisticated missiles earmarked for Hezbollah in Lebanon.

May 5, 2013

Israel has said it wants to stay out of the brutal Syrian war, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly stated he would be prepared to take military action to prevent sophisticated weapons flowing from Syria to Hezbollah or other extremist groups. An intelligence official in the Middle East, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed that Israel launched an airstrike in Damascus early on Sunday but did not give more precise details about the location. The target was Fateh-110 missiles, which have very precise guidance systems with better aim than anything Hezbollah has in its arsenal, the official told The Associated Press.

Hezbollah's al-Manar TV said the research centre in Jamraya was not hit. It added that an army supply centre was the target of the strike. Al-Manar quoted unnamed Syrian security officials as saying that three sites, including military barracks, arms depots and an air defence centre had been targeted by the strike. Uzi Rubin, a missile expert and former defence ministry official, told the AP that if the target were Fateh-110 missiles as reported, then it was a game changer as they put almost all Israel in range and could accurately hit targets. Rubin emphasised that he was speaking as a rocket expert and had no details on reported strikes. He said the rockets were five times more accurate than the Scud missiles that Hezbollah has fired in the past.

Source: The Sydney Morning Herald

[1980s]

Interesting. The NYT ran a report the other day about current Israeli activity in the Golan Heights that practically amounts to a reinforcement of their military occupation there, and now this latest strike on Damascus. Surely, a public relations disaster for the Syrian rebels and an invitation for both short and long term reprisals against Israel.

[Parihaka]

Off-the-Cuff Obama Line Put U.S. in Bind on Syria

[Mihais]

Off-the-Cuff Obama Line Put U.S. in Bind on Syria

Rough translation.Obama is an idiot loudmouth and he'd better use the teleprompter or stfu.
Whatever folks may say about US losing face,it's way better than losing lives.War is serious stuff and there is no way to win anything by supporting the rebels commiting mass murder and ethnic cleansing against Christians and Allawites.On the contrary,if there is anything to be gained,the West should support these folks against common foes.
For Christ sake's,I thought this humanitarian intervention sh!t died when Clinton left the office.At least Bush had some reason for fighting.These idiots have ''feelings''.

[Doktor]

A war with feelings?

What I read is Obama saying, "I feel with you, now get lost. Just let my speechwriters wrap it".

[tankie]

Whose boots? US? ;)

Not mine doc , ive done my time USA Boots he said