@spruce112358 said===We didn't overthrow Assad - Syrians did. ===
I haven't applauded any new regimes yet. 😆
I applaud getting rid of the Assad dictatorship. WOO HOO! Woot! Woot!
But I will tell you one mistake the West is about to make - we are really stupid this way, and hypocritical. The West is about to announce (as you more or less did) that certain new Syrian leaders are "unacceptable" because they are "terrorists."
Tha ...[text shortened]... that way. And Israel will open their big yap and voice opinions (HUGE mistake!)
But we should. 😆
That's trite geopolitical myopia.
Obviously, Syrians overthrew Assad, but they couldn't have done it without the weakening and distracting of his Allies Russia and Iran by the war Ukraine and Israel's attacks on Hezbollah, respectively.
===This is their moment. They get to decide what happens next. That's freedom and liberty which we say we care so much about and which is one of our BEDROCK PRINCIPLES===
Ha! You think al-Jolani and his Taliban-lite HTS launched a military attack on Damascus and exiled Assad so that he could open up free and fair elections? Now, maybe he really means what he says about not being another Taliban (or maybe he doesn't, we'll soon know). But if you think the Syrians are going to choose their own government in "freedom and liberty," I have some oceanfront property in Albuquerque to sell you.
They're under the heel of Islamist extremists, though it's certainly possible that these ones will be intelligent enough to treat the people a little better than their Taliban counterparts.
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@sh76 saidThey're under the heel of Islamist extremists, though it's certainly possible that these ones will be intelligent enough to treat the people a little better than their Taliban counterparts.
===We didn't overthrow Assad - Syrians did. ===
That's trite geopolitical myopia.
Obviously, Syrians overthrew Assad, but they couldn't have done it without the weakening and distracting of his Allies Russia and Iran by the war Ukraine and Israel's attacks on Hezbollah, respectively.
===This is their moment. They get to decide what happens next. That's freedom and liber ...[text shortened]... ones will be intelligent enough to treat the people a little better than their Taliban counterparts.
Perhaps the best we can hope for is a middle ground. i.e. A government with both lawmakers "intelligent enough to treat the people a little better than their Taliban counterparts" and a more conservative Islamic group who are a little less radical than most, but - we're talking about the middle east here, so even this may be too much to ask.
@mchill saidYou're using the term "lawmakers" a bit loosely. These are Islamist warlords.
They're under the heel of Islamist extremists, though it's certainly possible that these ones will be intelligent enough to treat the people a little better than their Taliban counterparts.
Perhaps the best we can hope for is a middle ground. i.e. A government with both lawmakers "intelligent enough to treat the people a little better than their Taliban counterparts" and ...[text shortened]... ical than most, but - we're talking about the middle east here, so even this may be too much to ask.
Of course, if they're intelligent people they'll realize that not ticking off the West is generally pretty good for your health and hold on power. On the other hand, they somehow have to pacify a totally randomly assigned country that's full of sects who hate each others' guts, and repress those who want to hang them from lamp posts.
Good luck. I wouldn't take that job for a million bucks.
@sh76 saidEXACTLY the mistake I expect the West to make! @sh76 you do not disappoint. 😆
Ha! You think al-Jolani and his Taliban-lite HTS launched a military attack on Damascus and exiled Assad so that he could open up free and fair elections? Now, maybe he really means what he says about not being another Taliban (or maybe he doesn't, we'll soon know). But if you think the Syrians are going to choose their own government in "freedom and liberty," I have some oceanf ...[text shortened]... ones will be intelligent enough to treat the people a little better than their Taliban counterparts.
Syrians have earned their right to choose. Maybe you won’t like their choice. Maybe you will.
But it us Their Choice.
The West now has the opportunity to fuuk up completely issuing sermons and sanctions and travel bans, etc. and I FULLY expect us to do so. 😆
@spruce112358 saidAnd they call blowhard Trump a conservative.
Bill Kristol @billkristolbulwark.bsky.social 🙂
“The scenes today in Damascus are the same ones that will unfold in Caracas, Tehran, or Moscow on the day the soldiers of those regimes lose faith in the leadership, and the public loses fear of those soldiers too. The similarities among these places are real…”
Bill Kristol is what we call a "real conservative." 😆
I used to be very impatient with "real conservatives." Now I find them refreshing!
@spruce112358 saidExcept for al-Jolani and his henchment, no Syrians are making any "choice" unless by choice, you mean obey or be shot (or burned).
EXACTLY the mistake I expect the West to make! @sh76 you do not disappoint. 😆
Syrians have earned their right to choose. Maybe you won’t like their choice. Maybe you will.
But it us Their Choice.
The West now has the opportunity to fuuk up completely issuing sermons and sanctions and travel bans, etc. and I FULLY expect us to do so. 😆
But I do agree that lecturing or sanctioning them based on anything that doesn't really affect us would be a mistake.
@spruce112358 saidActually no. You are wrong. What needs to happen is the world needs to stop sending aid to Syria. Between the US, UK, UN EU and other nations, billions of $$$ is aid is sent to Syria to help them fix problems caused by their poor decisions.
EXACTLY the mistake I expect the West to make! @sh76 you do not disappoint. 😆
Syrians have earned their right to choose. Maybe you won’t like their choice. Maybe you will.
But it us Their Choice.
The West now has the opportunity to fuuk up completely issuing sermons and sanctions and travel bans, etc. and I FULLY expect us to do so. 😆
In the last year alone at Syria received least $4,000,000,000 US in aid. If these people want to be free to make their own decisions, then they should stop begging for help.
Right now they are going to screw up again and beg for more aid.
The US should interfere and back a moderate government, and go in there and shoot all the Islamic extremists.
@spruce112358 saidThe US was playing around in Vietnam. When you go to war, you shoot, kill and get out. You dont play around. Take an example from the Jews. They dont mess around.
"Mr President, the US should interfere and back a moderate government, and go in there and shoot all the Communist extremists in Vietnam." 😆
What could go wrong.
In the case of Syria, you go in and take control. If that is not an option then stop with the sending billions of $$$ to these Islamic fools. You are financing them.
@Rajk999 saidThat's quite an armchair you have to quarterback from... 😆
The US was playing around in Vietnam. When you go to war, you shoot, kill and get out. You dont play around. Take an example from the Jews. They dont mess around.
In the case of Syria, you go in and take control. If that is not an option then stop with the sending billions of $$$ to these Islamic fools. You are financing them.
"Just kill 'em. KILL 'EM. It's simple and easy. Just KILL 'EM ALL."
The problems of the world, boiled down into one simple solution: KILL 'EM ALL.
It's almost like ... a Final Solution. 😆
{BTW, the Jews have been messing around for 80 years which is WAY longer than we were in Vietnam.}
@spruce112358 said===BTW, the Jews have been messing around for 80 years===
That's quite an armchair you have to quarterback from... 😆
"Just kill 'em. KILL 'EM. It's simple and easy. Just KILL 'EM ALL."
The problems of the world, boiled down into one simple solution: KILL 'EM ALL.
It's almost like ... a Final Solution. 😆
{BTW, the Jews have been messing around for 80 years which is WAY longer than we were in Vietnam.}
In 10 words, you just illustrated perfectly why it's impossible to dialogue with you on any questions related to Israel. Even if that was a semi-joke, you see the whole Israel as a Jewish incursion in the middle east.
Once you start with that given, it's impossible for you to analyze anything related to the subject.
@spruce112358 saidWar is not a joke, and should be a last resort after all else has failed. The parties must know that there is going to be death and destruction. In Vietnam, the US could have done a whole lot better if they took the job seriously. You go with the aim of finishing the job quickly and getting out. What happens now that prolongs these wars is the stupid rules made up by stupid people, about what to do and what not to do. You are one of these stupid people.
That's quite an armchair you have to quarterback from... 😆
"Just kill 'em. KILL 'EM. It's simple and easy. Just KILL 'EM ALL."
The problems of the world, boiled down into one simple solution: KILL 'EM ALL.
It's almost like ... a Final Solution. 😆
{BTW, the Jews have been messing around for 80 years which is WAY longer than we were in Vietnam.}
@spruce112358 saidThe only way the Jews are messing around is by trying to follow the stupid rules to which I referred in my previous post. In Gaza that war should have ended on October 8th 2024, with about 5 nukes.
{BTW, the Jews have been messing around for 80 years which is WAY longer than we were in Vietnam.}
The Jews have build a successful nation with enemies all around who are trying to finish them. That is an achievement unparalled in the history of the world.