Syria Disintegrating: Part 2

[viper37]

translated with Google. From about a week ago.
I'm pretty sure it's indicative of where Syria is headed. But to clear up misunderstandings: it's in the direction of a backwards islamofascist shithole. Because that's the ideology. Wether it's over there, or over here. Reason enough to keep it over there, and not import it to over here.

Yes, we knew that.

The question remains, what kind of islamofascism:
- You average Republican US State with book burning and witchhunts?
- Afghanistan under Taliban rule with public execution?
- Turkey?

I want neither, but Turkey is more palatable than either 3 and can be reasoned with, up to an extent.
There's not much to be done with Texas, or other similar US States, they're on a path to self destruction and they won't stop until they reach full theocracy.
Erdogan can still be compromised with, for now and he's better than Assad.

Not the ideal, far from it, but "workable".

[Josquius]

Well this is something. The Rest is Politics interview with the new Syrian leader.

[Solmyr]

TLDW summary?

[Zanza]

@Sheilbh: The EU lifted all sanctions except for a weapons embargo and chemicals related to chemical weapons and drugs. Seems sensible enough, but two months late.

[Sheilbh]

@Sheilbh: The EU lifted all sanctions except for a weapons embargo and chemicals related to chemical weapons and drugs. Seems sensible enough, but two months late.

Agree - it's the right move but it would have been good to get on the ground early with that sort of thing.

Can't help but think that 15 years after the Arab Spring the big winners in the Middle East are Turkey, Israel and Saudi (two doing a sort of Islamic technocracy - or as I heard one writer describe it "shopping malls and mosques", indeed sometimes new shopping malls with mosques in them) plus Netanyahu's Israel. Not what I think many people would have hoped for or expected - but I think that's what Europe now needs to work with in its neighbourhood. None of us are really able to shape political outcomes in the Middle East so need to deal with those who can and have.

[Tonitrus]

There was nice delay, but now it seems like the post-revolutionary atrocities are in full bloom.

[crazy canuck]

There was nice delay, but now it seems like the post-revolutionary atrocities are in full bloom.

Although it seems that forces directed by the interim govern are not involved.

Hopefully the violence is an aberration

[Iormlund]

Not the info I've seen.

What I've read (some of it from Syrians) is that former Assad loyalists attacked government troops. In response HTS fighters razed entire villages in apparently unsanctioned actions.

Some Alawites are already asking Israel for help. But Israel gains nothing by going up to Latakia.

The Druze Southwest of Damascus are much more fortunate. Keeping Mount Hebron makes defense against drones and missiles easier for the IDF. Also, enables access to Hezbollah's hinterlands bypassing the heavily fortified Litani sector.

[Jacob]

So I've seen two main stories on Syria recently:

1) Killing of civilian Alawites on the coast.

2) The government and SDF reaching an agreement.

[Jacob]

It looks like the Syrian government is arresting (at least some of) the perpetrators of the killings.

[Tamas]

There is no way that a decade of brutal multi-faction civil war, won by a coalition led by an Islamist terrorist, is going to end in peaceful reconciliation. Just no way.

[Josquius]

Its a long shot for sure, but the Islamic extremists are always likely to be the main issue, for the top man to be someone from their circles will lend credibility.
The question then comes to what extent are his excuses true -they do sound perfectly reasonable if they are , that he's been at this for 20 years, when you're a kid you of course get drawn towards the nutters, al quaida were just the default group to fall into at the time, etc...
Also worth considering peace and freedom do not necessarily go together. Brutal dictators often gain support through ensuring peace