What? No Outrage for Slaughered Syrians?

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rjaypeters
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What? No Outrage for Slaughered Syrians?

Post by rjaypeters »

Why the world isn't intervening in Syria
By Kyle Almond, CNN
updated 3:06 PM EST, Thu February 23, 2012

http://www.cnn.com/2012/02/23/world/syr ... hpt=hp_bn2
"Aqaba! By Land!" T. E. Lawrence

R. Peters

Diogenes
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Re: What? No Outrage for Slaughered Syrians?

Post by Diogenes »

rjaypeters wrote:Why the world isn't intervening in Syria
By Kyle Almond, CNN
updated 3:06 PM EST, Thu February 23, 2012

http://www.cnn.com/2012/02/23/world/syr ... hpt=hp_bn2

I can't speak for others, but I think i'm a little preoccupied with issues closer to home right now. See my "We are DOOOOOOOMMMEEDD! DOOOOOOMMMED I say! "

While I don't want anyone being killed or suffering, I can think of people to whom I would consider it to be a greater tragedy.
‘What all the wise men promised has not happened, and what all the damned fools said would happen has come to pass.’
— Lord Melbourne —

GIThruster
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Post by GIThruster »

Nothing against the people in Syria, but if they want help, they really should ask, and then find themselves behind the people in places like Sudan and Somalia that have been enduring atrocities at the hands of the Islamo-fascists for many years.
"Courage is not just a virtue, but the form of every virtue at the testing point." C. S. Lewis

choff
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Post by choff »

Syria's military is ten times stronger than Libya's, and I suspect France and Britian are light on precision guided munitions after expending them all against Kaddafi. What they need is for Turkey, Jordan, Iraq and Saudi Arabia to help set up a proper resistance army to the regime. It gets complicated by tribal loyalties inside and outside the country, plus the threat of conflict between Israel and Iran.
CHoff

GIThruster
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Post by GIThruster »

The really troubling thing about the Arab Spring is that there's no telling what the Arabs will choose to do with any freedom they win. They haven't historically embraced the notion of secularism, or separation of church and state, so on every occasion when Arabs throw off an oppressor, they're most likely to embrace a new kind of oppression. How do you help people who think freedom is evil?

In the history of the West, secularism really began to take root when Charlemagne confirmed his father Pepin's deed of the Papal States to the church in Rome. From that time, the seeds of Christianity began to explode, and support this distinction between church and state, and the end of religious persecution. That was 1200 years ago. So when just over 200 years ago, this became the law of the land in many nations throughout the West, it was not as if it were unexpected. The seeds had been growing, gnawing, nipping at the heels for ten centuries.

This precursor to secularism didn't occur in the Middle East. Transformation there is occurring much more rapidly, in decades rather than in centuries, and many if not most still think freedom is evil. They call us in the west "The Great Satan" because truly in the minds of many, freedom is evil. Especially religious freedom is considered evil. We're here talking about hundreds or thousands of disparate cultures that hold in common things like Honor Killing--murdering those in your own family if they should turn aside and practice another faith. There is no parallel to this in any other religion in all world history (so this is not the time to bash some other religion, yon atheists).

When your heart weeps for those in Syria, does it weep for the women and children who have suffered incredible cruelty for 6,000 years, or are you just reacting to the emotion in the voice of your newscaster? Imagine it was your sister who had her clitoris cut out. Your mother who was told she's not allowed to read, or write, or speak in public, and your father who grew up believing it's perfectly acceptable to beat his wife and children as much as he likes, even to death. Imagine it was your brother who ran away to start a new life, and no one in the family is allowed to speak his name.

When you weep for Syria, what is it you're weeping for? A few thousand deaths splashed on the nightly news? Doesn't that seem a little tame compared to the atrocities the Islamic world lives in every day?
"Courage is not just a virtue, but the form of every virtue at the testing point." C. S. Lewis

Skipjack
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Post by Skipjack »

Oh, the Arab spring will cause a shift towards the religious right in these countries, no quesiton about it. The people there want a united Arab nation and they will work towards that and it will be islamic, for sure.
I am not sure that supporting the rebels in these countries really was going to help the US or Israel in the long term. I am also 100% convinced that once the US leaves Iraq, it will be worse than under Saddam, because the islamofascists will take over there. Why do you think they did not remove Saddam from power earlier?

MSimon
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Post by MSimon »

From what I read around and hints from here and there it looks like the ME will be a near total write off for the next 50 years. Iran has oil.

Egypt does not.

Failed treasury auction portends Egyptian disaster

And that does not account for the demographic implosion. Birth rates are going well below replacement levels very fast. Iran is a prime example there.

Recall notice for the Turkish model

Islam is dying and there will be quite a bit of thrashing around until it is finally put down.
Engineering is the art of making what you want from what you can get at a profit.

ladajo
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Post by ladajo »

Skipjack wrote:Oh, the Arab spring will cause a shift towards the religious right in these countries, no quesiton about it. The people there want a united Arab nation and they will work towards that and it will be islamic, for sure.
I am not sure that supporting the rebels in these countries really was going to help the US or Israel in the long term. I am also 100% convinced that once the US leaves Iraq, it will be worse than under Saddam, because the islamofascists will take over there. Why do you think they did not remove Saddam from power earlier?
Arabs will never unite. It is not in their blood or cultural makeup to do so. The Tribal/clan competition instinct is just too strong. Not to mention the economic and religious divides.
The development of atomic power, though it could confer unimaginable blessings on mankind, is something that is dreaded by the owners of coal mines and oil wells. (Hazlitt)
What I want to do is to look up C. . . . I call him the Forgotten Man. (Sumner)

ladajo
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Post by ladajo »

Thanks for the link on Turkey. A good read. Something to think about.
The development of atomic power, though it could confer unimaginable blessings on mankind, is something that is dreaded by the owners of coal mines and oil wells. (Hazlitt)
What I want to do is to look up C. . . . I call him the Forgotten Man. (Sumner)

Skipjack
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Post by Skipjack »

Arabs will never unite. It is not in their blood or cultural makeup to do so. The Tribal/clan competition instinct is just too strong. Not to mention the economic and religious divides.
Hehehe, well that is not what I see happening.

MSimon
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Post by MSimon »

Skipjack wrote:
Arabs will never unite. It is not in their blood or cultural makeup to do so. The Tribal/clan competition instinct is just too strong. Not to mention the economic and religious divides.
Hehehe, well that is not what I see happening.
I saw it happen before as well. UAR.
Engineering is the art of making what you want from what you can get at a profit.

Skipjack
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Post by Skipjack »

The arab world is uniting thanks to their common religion, Islam which transfers into a common culture and language (the Koran is in Arabic and so every child learns it in school). The other thing that is uniting them is their hatred for Israel which is carefully kept "hot" by those working towards the goal of a united arab nation.
I think that if Israel was taken out of the equation, it might not work out. But I think that Israel is here to stay and I am almost sure that those working the wheels there will make sure that their favorite hate target remains exactly where it is.

GIThruster
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Post by GIThruster »

MSimon wrote: Islam is dying and there will be quite a bit of thrashing around until it is finally put down.
Islam is the second largest and one of the fastest growing religions in the world. There is no evidence whatsoever that is it "dying". It is growing in leaps an bounds all around the world. Here in the West, Islam is growing because every emotionally disturbed person who wants to make a counter-cultural statement with their choice of religion, chooses Islam. It's chic, just as New Age was in the 60's and 70's.
"Courage is not just a virtue, but the form of every virtue at the testing point." C. S. Lewis

ladajo
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Post by ladajo »

Skipjack wrote:The arab world is uniting thanks to their common religion, Islam which transfers into a common culture and language (the Koran is in Arabic and so every child learns it in school). The other thing that is uniting them is their hatred for Israel which is carefully kept "hot" by those working towards the goal of a united arab nation.
I think that if Israel was taken out of the equation, it might not work out. But I think that Israel is here to stay and I am almost sure that those working the wheels there will make sure that their favorite hate target remains exactly where it is.
Islam as a common religion. Now that is funny. Come on Skip, you know more than that. I know you do.

The "United Arab Republic" was a complete sham. Funny how long it lasted. That is like saying The Ottoman Empire was its predecessor, and it will happen again. Hah!
You all are misisng the bus big time on this one if you think that "they" are working towards a "United Arab Nation".

Who do you think "they" are anyway? And who is on the list of states that are 'willing to join'?

This is going to be a fun one I think. (rubs hands, rolls up shirt sleeves :D )
The development of atomic power, though it could confer unimaginable blessings on mankind, is something that is dreaded by the owners of coal mines and oil wells. (Hazlitt)
What I want to do is to look up C. . . . I call him the Forgotten Man. (Sumner)

Betruger
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Post by Betruger »

It doesnt take much conversation with a few acquaintances from a good slice thru ME demographics to recognize Ladajo (and anyone else I missed - no time to read whole backlog of posts) is right. There's no such unity.

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