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Subscribe to RSSSyrian forces continued their brutal assault in the city of Homs as Russia's foreign minister held talks with President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus. ITN's Paul Davies reports.
Updated at 3 p.m. ET: The White House is considering providing humanitarian aid to the Syrian people, even while it ramps up pressure on the President Bashar Assad's government, Reuters reported on Tuesday.
"We are going to continue to work with international allies ... to put the pressure required,'' White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters, reiterating that the Obama administration was not weighing the prospects of arming anti-government forces seeking to topple Assad.
But without offering details, he said: "We are exploring the possibilty of providing humanitarian aid to Syrians.''
Updated at 12:40 a.m. ET: Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov urges Syrian President Bashar Assad to move ahead with reforms during his visit to Damascus Tuesday.
"Necessary reforms must be implemented in order to address legitimate demands of the people striving for a better life," Lavrov tells Assad in their talks, according to Russian state-run news agency ITAR-Tass. "It's clear that efforts to stop the violence should be accompanied by the beginning of dialogue among the political forces."
Assad replies that Syria is "determined" to hold a national dialogue with the opposition and independent figures and that his government is "ready to cooperate with any effort that boosts stability in Syria," according to the state news agency SANA.
Updated at 9:15 a.m. ET: Gulf Arab countries announced they were recalling their ambassadors from Damascus and expelling Syrian envoys in response to worsening violence in Syria.
The move came after thousands of Syrians cheered the arrival of Russia's foreign minister as he arrived in Damascus, and the government resumed a fierce attack on a city at the center of protests.
"The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, current head of the council, announces that the GCC states have decided to withdraw all their ambassadors from Syria and also demand that all ambassadors of the Syrian regime in its lands leave immediately,'' a statement
from the Gulf Cooperation Council said.
The six-member GCC includes Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Original story: Thousands of Syrians waving Russian flags cheered Russia's foreign minister as he arrived in Damascus as a city at the center of protests against President Bashar Assad's regime came under renewed bombardment on Tuesday.
Regime forces stepped up an assault on the flashpoint city of Homs, using tanks and machine guns in a push to recover rebel-held districts, The Associated Press reported.
The United States has closed its embassy in Syria amid violent unrest, and international pressure is mounting on Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad to stop his bloody crackdown on a popular uprising in the country. NBC's Ayman Mohyeldin reports.
As dawn broke, gunfire was reported in Homs where the opposition Syrian National Council said dozens of people were killed on Monday and activists claimed 200 died in shelling over the weekend, The Guardian reported.
Syrian authorities denied firing on houses but said their forces killed "tens of terrorists" in Homs on Monday, the newspaper added.
More than 5,400 people have been killed in Syria since the uprising began in March, the U.N. said early last month. Hundreds more are believe to have been killed since then, but the U.N. says the chaos in the country has made it impossible to cross-check the figures.
Syria has blocked access to trouble spots and prevented independent reporting, making it nearly impossible to verify accounts from either side. The Assad regime says terrorists acting out a foreign conspiracy to destabilize the country are behind the uprising, not people seeking to transform the authoritarian regime.
The United States has closed its embassy in Syria amid violent unrest, and international pressure is mounting on Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad to stop his bloody crackdown on a popular uprising in the country. NBC's Ayman Mohyeldin reports.
US shutters embassy in Syria, withdraws staff
On Monday, troops shelled a makeshift medical clinic and residential areas, killing nearly 70 people, activists told The AP. More than a dozen others were reported killed elsewhere.
Meanwhile, German investigators said they had arrested two men on allegations they were spying on Syrian opposition groups in Germany. The two men, named as Mahmoud El A., 47, and Akram O., had been under surveillance by Germany's domestic intelligence agency and would be brought before a judge on Wednesday, NBC News reported.
The Federal Prosecutors' Office said Tuesday some 70 police officers searched the suspects' apartments and those of six alleged
accomplices.
'Thank you Russia and China'
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov's visit for talks with the embattled president comes days after Syrian allies Russia and China vetoed a Western- and Arab-backed resolution at the United Nations that would have condemned the Assad regime's crackdown on dissent and calling on him to transfer some of his powers to his deputy. The Syrian government had rejected the Arab plan as intervention in Syria's internal affairs.
Stringer / Reuters
A man inspects an armored vehicle damaged during clashes between President Bashar Assad's forces and the Free Syrian Army in Homs on Saturday.
Live footage from the capital showed Lavrov's convoy snaking its way along the Mazzeh boulevard among a sea of Assad supporters who turned up to express gratitude for Moscow's supportive stance. The foreign minister and Russia's foreign intelligence chief Mikhail Fradkov were headed to the presidential palace to meet with Assad.
"Thank you Russia and China" read one banner that had the photos of both Assad and the Russian president. Many stood under rain carrying Syrian flags as well as the red, blue and white Russian banner and balloons.
Hillary Clinton lambastes 'travesty' of UN veto on Syria
Lavrov on Monday said Western condemnation of Russia's veto of the UN Security Council resolution on Saturday bordered on "hysteria."
Ongoing violence and a worsening security situation has been further complicated by Russia and China's decision to block a U.N Security Council resolution on Syria. NBC's Ayman Mohyeldin reports.
Russia is Syria's main supplier of arms and the port of Tartus is home to Russia's only Mediterranean naval base, the BBC reported.
NBC News, msnbc.com staff and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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As with everything that the Russians do, this will blow up in their face. They had a revolution in 1917 and suffered 70 years of misery. They went into Afghanistan and got their a$$es kicked. They are a cursed people with despotic leaders. When the Russians get involved no one wins.
At least we now know who's side they are on. All we have to do is STAY THE HELL OUT OF IT !!!
bob
HONESTJ what this story really shows is that Assad has many supporters in Syria that are very pleased with China and Russia. And as in any civil war there are two sides not just the side the administration and MSNBC gives you. Still Assad is an @!$%# as his father was but that is the business of the Syrian people not the USA.
How does one go about getting a Russian flag in Damascus?
I wonder at the violence of the so called 'protesters'. If they are taking out armored vehicles they are closer to terrorists or death squads. Funny how the media still labels them 'protesters'.
If protesters did that here they'd be called terrorists, and arrested or killed.
Why is the media trying to sell us this crap?
Not to worry, folks.
We'll be bombing, invading and occupying THAT country before too long. More lives wasted and more billions squandered. Won't THAT be nice?
(*sarc*)
Where Russia and China are concerned, there always has to be something in it for them. Otherwise, they would just set on the fence and wait like vultures to see which way to get involved. The people we see waving Russian and Chinese flags and welcoming the envoy reminds me of the stupid people waving flags for Gaddafi Who were the pro Government hold outs and on his payroll.
And eventually, as in all revolutions, this one will devour its own children.
Of course the Russians are going to be received in Syria. They sell them guns and a lot of other military equipment. Let the Russians pay for it in their own currency (Rubbles and Human Lives).
Jungleboogie,
"I wonder at the violence of the so called 'protesters'. If they are taking out armored vehicles they are closer to terrorists or death squads."
If you have been following the story, you should know that it began with protests last March until the Assad regime began attacking and killing the protesters. It has since developed into something more like a civil war with some military defectors having joined the "protesters" and with many of the "protesters" having armed themselves. But I think you're right that it may not be appropriate any longer to continue referring to them as simply "protesters". When they become armed, they become "combatants".
Jungleboogie doesn't even know what he is talking about, not even worth responding to someone who can't use eyes. That has nothing to do with biase. It has to do with critical thinking.
This certainly is an iron curtain scenario. Guess Russians think things were awesome when they were the Soviet Union. Work or get shot!
Are you kidding? Bashir al Assad's thugs are passing them out like candy.
Way to go Putin. They can build a statue of you right next to the one of the butcher of Homs.
Putin and Russia are publicly supporting and private scolding Assad. Everyone should be aware of this. This is how diplomacy works. Russia will not go down with Assad. In the end they will cut their losses and side with the winner of the upcoming civil war in Syria.
Russia and China. Talk about a pair of "crack ripe" monkeys herding cats. Deadly, but interesting. Poor Syrian people.
Hello folks, when will we discard our Imperialistic mindset? If you can't see that we are the instigators in most of the world's wars and displacement of millions of people who are fleeing our aggression, than you are in denial and not paying attention.
Why is it other countries feel like they have to defend their territory? Could it be that they know we have no problem invading their sovereignty just as we have done to countless other countries. Since World War II, 90% of the casualties of war are unarmed civilians. 1/3 of them children. Our victims have done nothing to us. From Palestine to Afghanistan to Iraq to Somalia to wherever our next target may be, their murders are not collateral damage, they are the nature of modern warfare. They don't hate us because of our freedoms. They hate us because every day we are funding and committing crimes against humanity. The so-called "war on terror" is a cover for our military aggression to gain control of the resources of western Asia.
This is sending the poor of this country to kill the poor of those Muslim countries. This is trading blood for oil. This is genocide, and to most of the world, we are the terrorists. In these times, remaining silent on our responsibility to the world and its future is criminal. And in light of our complicity in the supreme crimes against humanity in Iraq and Afghanistan, and ongoing violations of the U.N. Charter in International Law, how dare any American criticize the actions of legitimate resistance to illegal occupation.
We are going into Syria for a couple of reasons, one, we are trying to dislodge Russia from there because they have a foothold in the Middle East via two military bases in Latakia and Tartus in Syria. Two, Syria is a strong ally of Iran. If we invade Syria we take out a strong ally and maybe incite Iran to assist giving the U.S. the reason they are looking for to attack Iran. The ultimate goal is to surround, weaken and to invade Iran. The petro dollar is at stake as other countries are switching to other forms of currency in buying Iran’s oil.
Since the Russian war in 1828, Iran has never attacked another country. We on the other hand have attacked to name a few:
Libya, Iran, Nicaragua, Haiti, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Angola, Mozambique, Honduras, Chile, Congo, Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon, Somalia, Angola, Columbia, Peru, Panama, Yemen, Pakistan, Grenada, Mexico, etc..
Wake up people we are being herded down the Military Industrial Complex gauntlet again to another false war to enrich the greedy Corporations and distract the American people. Did we not learn anything from the Iraq war where we have killed well over 1 million Iraqi people, lost thousands of American lives and God knows how many hundreds of billions of dollars?
Who do you support, humanity or the greedy elite?
Many of our soldiers don't fight for America, they fight for their lives and their buddies beside them, because we put them in a war zone. They're not defending our freedoms, they're laying the foundation for permanent military bases to defend the freedoms of Exxon Mobil and British Petroleum.
Face it we're Imperialists pure and simple. The elite look down on all of us as expendable chattel.
"Military men are dumb, stupid animals to be used as pawns for foreign policy" Henry Kissinger
I’m not asking you to hate war but to love peace. War, what is it good for? Absolutely nothing!
Trust, WHAT are you ranting on about?
War with Syria is a non-starter. It's not happening. This is about Russia and Syria, and democratic protesters turned revolutionaries. The United States gave its best attempt at a finger wag in the UN, and that didn't work, so now we're done. We watch and wait. Save the conspiracy theories and whining for when the US actually takes a substantial action.
Derek said:
It's blind foolish thinking with that attitude that got us stuck in Iraq for ten years.
And yeah, I take the "claims" of the Syrian death squads with a grain of salt.
Might as well ask the fox how many chickens are left in the hen house.
Why would we support protesters who are akin to terrorists? Would you like armed gangs of OWS protesters running around our own cities killing at random?
HONESTJ
I made a few edits to your post:
As with everything that the USA does, this will blow up in their face. They went into Viet Nam and got their a$$es kicked.. They went into Afghanistan and got their a$$es kicked. They are a cursed people with despotic leaders. When the USA gets involved no one wins.
The Russian Navy just wants [needs?] continued use of Syria's port facilities at Tartus. There are not too many other naval ports in the Mediterranean where they are welcome, let alone arrange re-supply. So Putin will do whatever it takes for Bashar al-Assad's regime to stay in power.
Friday, March 25, 2011
General Wesley Clark:: "America will take out 7 countries in 5 years"
According to Former NATO supreme allied commander, former presidential candidate and 4 star US General Wesley Clark that they had received a memo that America is going to take out 7 countries in the Middle East in 5 years starting with Iraq, Libya, Syria Lebanon Sudan and Somalia , seeing what's going on today in Libya but also in Syria where violent protest just erupted , it is amazing how these things that were planned years ago are being achieved in front of our eyes.
Look it up, it has been out there for awhile.
TrustVerify....good post,,,the end result in all those countries being regimes that are " friendly " to US interests........The US has military bases in every country in the Middle East except Iran and Syria....the plan to remap the Middle East has long been on the drawing board...
Marty-308743 Use your imagination, what happened to the North Koreans who didn't cry loud enough?
Syrians who didn't wave actively enough the Russian flags given out by the Syrian army were shot.
Bravo, TrustVerify. Your post is outstanding. Too bad we don't have MORE common sense in this country. Keep up the great postings.
@we can do it
If you don't like it here, the door is always open my friend. Take you silly a$$ self somewhere else.
We are coming for Assad no matter what!!!!!
We will pin point his location and take him out.
For the autrocities that he has committed he will definitely pay the heaviest price of all.
Can you say satellite surveillance???/
We know where you are and will follow your every move and wait for when you have found comfort before X-ing you out!!!!
you will not get away with these murders...../
RUSSIA/ CHINA not even GOD will be able to protect you.
Sorry, Sergey, but this won't help prop up Putin/Medveyevski. It is obvious that "rising up to protect Syria" from "The West" is little more than an effort to unite Russians behind a "strong" leader --- Judo/Horseman/SCUBA/fire-fighter/pilot/nincompup Putin who is having a bit of a hard go at the moment. Putin is a fitting former employee of a spy organization who had every head-of-station in Washington defect.
But, Putin, buddy. Syria is a Tar Baby that will not let you go until you are covered.
"Talk to ....", "Give aid to ...", "Praise them ..."
You have to be kidding me. Another Administration "highly questionable" International policy.
I suppose Mr. Obama needs to take a deep, long, breath (if he can get away from hiding his smoking) and THINK for a change. Nah, still with the "On The Job Training".
Humanitarian Aid?
That is not what the Syrians need. How is the US going to get it there?
As John McCain suggested, we need to arm the civilians. Anything sent to Syria will be confiscated before it gets to it's people. This is a similar situation like Libya/Egypt--who are the people; Revolutionaries, Terrorists, or simply people living their daily lives. Who will take over the Government if the Syrian Government is destroyed. The Muslim Brotherhood?
There is no hope for the Syrians, as long as Russia and China are encouraging Assad to keep going.
What a mess---7,000 killed in the last several months---there must be more.
Assad needs to be captured by an opposing group there. That most likely won't happen either. The Syrian Military will take over the Government.
Syria, the quiet ME country who was always the worst of the bunch in the that region.
How about some humanitarian aid to our grandchildren. Don't spend money we don't have stay the heck out of this.
lonereb:
Can you honestly say you can watch the innocent people get slaughtered in Syria. Yes, there is a mixture of people in the uprising in Syria.
Hopefully, Humanitarian reasons means feeling sorry for those who do not want to be a part of the gangsters in Syria and it's Leader. The Pres. giving a speech that consoles and supports their uprising. They want to hear from the US. Same in Libya; they never got the support of the US by words. Obviously we were involved in that uprising.
Perhaps Drones again?
There is no way The US can help. Don't worry, the US is locked out, unless International INTEL makes strides getting to Assad. Then who knows how the ending will be. Usually, it is dismal.
Grandparents are going to have to come to the "aid" of their grandchildren, for generations.
We do have Government Programs in the US to help poverty stricken people. What else can the US do in this situation?
I'm with lonereb. There are a lot of people in the U.S.A. that could use a little humanitarian aid.
Damacus had thousands dancing in the streets celebrating 9/11 - screw the Syrians - I hope it is a truly vicious, bloody, horrific civil war with blood running in the streets - a sentiment that I am sure the vast majority of Lebanese and Israeli's would agree with.
NO MORE sending money or aid to foreign countries. Syria is very close to the richest countries on earth oil wise and they can send humanitarian aide.
We need to invest in America. Keep the money here and use it for Research and Development.
Giving Syria humanitarian aid now..is like giving Russia a payment for their weapons supplied to Syria..BAD IDEA!
Hello folks, our country is broke and we are taking care of other countries? Does this make any sense to anyone?
Obama is going to spend 1 billion dollars on his campaign and Romney will probably spend about the same. 2 billion dollars on campaigns, is that insane or what?
We let another country (Federal Reserve, neither federal nor a reserve, a group of mostly European banksters) control our currency!
We let Wall Street run our government! Wall Street is Washington and Washington is Wall Street! We have a two headed one party system serving their mastere Wall Street and the Federal Reserve!
We've legalized Corporations (Citizen's United) as people! They can now buy any election they want to! They don't even have to be American corporations!
We invade a different country every year!
50 million people can't go to a doctor because they don't have health care!
47 million people need food stamps just to feed themselves!
25 million people are unemployed or underemployed!
15 million people's mortgages are worth more than their homes!
The worlds GDP is 65 trillion and the derivatives market is estimated at 1.4 quadrillion. If Greece defaults at 100% and the ISDA (International Swaps and Derivative Association) call it a default, our 5 largest banks will crash.
Our national debt is going on 17 trillion dollars! We pay off our debt with more debt! They tell the U.S. citizens it is their fault because they don't live within their means! They fail to mention it has everything to do with corrupt business and political leaders and the Federal Reserve and their fractional reserve banking system!
We keep bailing out the banks and we're told it's because they are too big to fail and all the while we allow them to get bigger! We are witnessing the biggest bank robbery in history and the banks are doing the robbing!
Our congress is bought and paid for and involved with insider trading!
Our media is bought and paid for by corporations and treat us like mushrooms!
Our constitution, our most sacred document as a country is meaningless!
We let the government divide us so that they can keep us in fear, distracted, and divided to the theft going on right in front of our eyes each and every second of the day.
What is wrong with this picture? We have lost our priorities as a country and need to reclaim them!
Andy Ritch:
If the US Government gives all Humanitarian Aid, how do we or the Government know how it is spent?
Cigarettes, Alcohol, Drugs, Gambling--There is no one to watch over the people who accept Humanitarian Aid. None--we should assume all are good people?
Thru Welfare, Social Programs, Food Banks, and people donating money to Organizations that house the underprivileged, they can make it. Social Workers are there to help. They need Motivation, not full monetary support from the Taxpayers.
Not fair. Most people work to earn a living (there are hardship cases, yes); those who are disabled, and those who no longer can work because of chronic illness, or terminal, should be helped.
It good to believe in Humanitarian Aid in the US---we can all help, by helping each other; doing good deeds, buying groceries, or taking people to Med. appts, or giving them a few bucks here and there. We do help our extended family.
The US should no longer help other countries who backfire on America; that includes 99 percent of the World.
Thank you TrustVerify. I can go back to sleep peacefully believing that ther are still well informed people like you with real outstanding comments. While you are at it please do not forget the $12 billion stollen in Iraq.
P-Laya...
Something tells me that you long overdue to grow up...
Hawaii
I am with you 100%, however, if the politicians persist in giving our money away, at least it can be given at home. Actually, the social organizations are doing a great job and you are right, they need motivation not necessarily money.
Nice Beamer.
Nice tackle!
750 L. Love that German engineering.
Don't you remember Hitler said they were the "Master Race"? And they fell for it!
JK from PA -
World War I - Woodrow Wilson - Democrat
World War II - FDR - Democrat
Korean War - Truman - Democrat
Bay of Pigs - Kennedy - Democrat
Vietnam War - LBJ - Democrat ; ended the war and the draft - Richard M. Nixon - Republican
Grenada - Reagan - Republican
Persian Gulf War - Bush - Republican
Bosnia and Herzegovina - Clinton - Democrat
War on Terror - Bush - Republican
That's 6 wars started by Democrats (one of them ended by a Republican) ,
3 started by Republicans
Who are the war mongers ??????????
Of course their are two sides in a civil war! ''Thousands of Syrians waving Russian flags cheered Russia's foreign minister'' Obama and the liberal media try to manipulate public opinion to meet their agenda as in Libya and Egypt to make it seem the opposition are innocent little lambs helpless victims when in fact on both counts the country was and is split. We really should not be picking winners and losers in a civil war!
You could not be more wrong. But, Bush and Cheney are gone so you are, once again, entitled to your opinion without being subjected to being called anti-American.
Liberal media = open expression
Conservative media = censorship
Read books on Josef Goebels and you'll understand what your pal Rupert Murdoch is up to.
LiFe, if you have been paying any attention at all, you would understand it is the Arab League calling for Assad to step down and stop his government's actions. The Arab League is about as far from the "liberal media" as you are from rational thought.
Impotent Obama Demands Assad Step Down After Slaughter in ...
www.jammiewf.com/.../impote... - Estados Unidos - Isalin ang pahinang ito
Impotent Obama Demands Assad Step Down After Slaughter in Syria. Posted by Jammie on Feb 04, 2012 at 3:51 pm. President Barack Obama on Saturday ...Bluecat 55''it is the Arab League calling for Assad to step down''
JK - So what you are saying is that when people like Hank Williams Jr. and Juan Williams are fired for expressing their opinions by the "Liberal" media, simply because they don't agree with the popular consensus, it's not censorship? There has been much more censorship coming from the left than ever came from the right. How many people referred to Bush as a Nazi without being terminated and yet to use Obama's name in the same sentence as Hitler gets you fired. Can you name anyone fired from Fox even when they poke fun at Murdoch?
The liberal press is the most biased, opinionated and unbalanced in the world, you have a better chance for unbiased reporting coming from North Korea than the liberal media in the United States - the tyranny of the liberal press is second only to their unwavering support of every failed liberal policy and politician in the democrat party - a party of failure and failures
But if you look around, there are people all over the world who are rising up. It is because when you are soooo hungry, you have no choice but to be heard. Even if you will be shot dead because you are sooo hungry. The bees, wild animals & plants & sea life are dying.
The Russian and Chinese officials have once again proven to the world they are supporters of terrorism and members of the Axis of Evil international outlaws !!!!
Regardless of what Russia and china did, I kind of like the outcome. America needs to fix it's own problemsbefore running to fix everyone else's.
I agree with you Jimmy!! I work for a local Food Bank.and since our current leader was elected ,we've seen an 80% increase of people in need,right here in the grand ol, USA!!
I wonder who is funding that "Free" Syria Army. That's quite the group of protesters.
It looks more like CIA funded death squads.
I wonder why the Arab League Observer report has been suppressed?
Good point....go to Global research dot com......there are some very good perspectives on Syria....most say Assad enjoys popular support despite what our mainstream media tells us.....The Arab league observers noted that there is an Unkown entity that is creating the violence....could it be CIA?//absolutley.......the US wants to destabalize Syria in a further attempt to isolate Iran.....
Iran still remains as the " Prize "
Bah, I WISH our CIA were competent enough to start civil wars in countries we hate. Especially civil wars to overthrow dictators and establish democratic regimes.
I find it much more credible that Syrians were simply tired of being shot at by their own military and turned against/deserted them.
SFaccountant LMAO...Our CIA has overthrown more democracies, supported more brutal dictators and have funded and supported more terorists groups than any other nation......what are YOU talking about....??
How about our support for Saddam Hussein, Osama Bin Laden, gen Noriega, Gen Pincohet, the CIA overthrew Mossadegh and installed the Shah...the list goes on and on and on...
Just Google CIA and Syria and see what you find......
Yeah, I know about those. But something on this scale?
I would be surprised, and actually quite pleased if it turned out Syria imploded thanks to America.
But as I said, the current story, that peaceful protesters kept getting gunned down until they took up arms against their government, holds water perfectly fine.
Something on this scale??? Why would Syria be any different from all the other countries the CIA has been involved in the countries I mentioned........Syria is classic CIA/ Mossad style playbook....
Assad enjoys popular support in Syria.
This is just another example that you cannot trust the Russians or Chinese in anything, but as a friend of mine pointed out to me, we are in too deep to the Chinese.
Defender, I believe that the Chinese are in too deep to us. Have we become to big to fail in their eyes?
assad does not have many supporters only people supporting him are minority awalwite thats all. they count for twenty something percent of the population. In damascus they mostly there except for certain distracts.
Russia and China give a green light to kill and not one person burning a Russian or Chinese Flag?
We do nothing and they chant Death to America and burn the American flag.
Fight you own fight we want nothing to do with it!!!
It's a geopolitical thing.
From some of the comments about China you would think they own 90% of our debt. When in actuality they own 8%, followed by Japan at 6%. Our own FED owns 7%. The biggest owners of American debt is Americans who own 30%. As far as Syria is concerned, once again the battle is really along religious sectarian lines. Assad is an Alawite and those revolting are Sunnis.
Getting involved in the Mid East is like trying to break up an Alley Cat fight. You get between the two, they both turn on you and claw the H out of you, then run away and continue with their fight.
NUKE EM ALL!!! only joking
For Russia it's just business not personal, for the Chinese, a chance slap the U.S, for America and the West, stay out of it, nothing good will come of this revolution one way or the other. Anyone who believes that our meddling in the Middle East will bring about democracy and good will is delusional.
Promoted conflict as usual and accelrated by the dinosaur press.
Benefitting who???
More endless war, more impossible debt for Americans, more police state, DEpopulation.
The Rothschild/Rockefeller/Soros bankster cult agenda.
This mostly benefits Russia (through arms sales), and suppression of it largely benefits Iran.
We have very little to gain here unless the miraculous happens and Syria emerges as a democratic free state suddenly friendly to US interests.
So, no, this has nothing to do with bankers. Sometimes world events are actually controlled by politicians using diplomacy and military force, not businesspeople. Shocking, I know, but even our corporate puppetmasters need to sleep, you know.
I have a suggestion let Russia and China help Syria and when the Muslim people turn on them like they do everybody else including their on people and they call for help stand back and watch. Russia remember the Muslim rebels you are dealing with now. And the US should stop sending foreign aid to those countries. We could put that money back in our bank. Like Congressman Ted Poe said we do not have to pay people to hate us. Barak you and Hillary stay out of this let Syria take care of their own problems and take a few Russians and Chinese with them. As for the Arab league that group change directions faster than the wind blows.
Hate to admit it but we ignored the violence in Bahrain..said nothing about the crackdowns and Saudi troops...
The difference?
Russia has Naval Base in Syria...sells arms.....
U.S. has Naval Base in Bahrian..sells arms.....
The West has no business here, so mind your own and butt out.
Good idea James. It's time that some Ruskie blood lined the streets in these Arabic countries. They need to get back in the game here instead of just selling them nukes and caviar and anti-USA posters.
All of these regimes will fall. They're already crumbling. We may not see it our lifetime but it will surely come for ALL people have had it with oppression.
has anyone wonder who is supporting the rebels that want to over throw the syrian government ? and why is the west so insistant on throwing out the syrian government ? why not help them stop the rebels ? is the rebels any better in making a new government ? think about it ? or maybe other "countries " want to destroy syria and send their 'rebels ' into power ?? mmm ?? food for thought
Well, besides Turkey, there's no indication that the rebels are receiving substantial support.
As for why we don't help stop the rebels, why would we? The Syrian government stirred this hornet's nest by murdering peaceful protesters, this is a problem it brought on itself.
What puzzles me is the fact the US has the ability to encourage democracy in the ME through countries friendly to us (Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, etc) however choose not to do so. WHY? I would think the way to implement democracy within a region is to start with those countries we have a friendly relationship with. If democracy is our true intention within the region then start with those countries. But, Lord forbid, we disturb the monarchy of Saudi Arabia or any other royalty in the ME for that matter. Typical American political BS.
Simple: geopolitical convenience trumps principles. Saudi Arabia is a good ally, so we might occasionally say they should consider a more democratic form of government, but we're not going to risk upsetting them by making any serious push for it.
Iran and Syria, on the other hand, are enemies. So when they do something wrong, we come down on them as hard as possible. It's hypocritical, obviously, but then so is lots of geopolitics.
What they didn't realize is that he's just there to sell the current regime more anti-infantry weapons in order to quickly deal with the protestors.
Assad must go.
The US must stay out. We have enough debt and misery to deal with.
I agree let someone else be the worlds policeman then they can go broke and be hated by everybody they tried to help.
Laying out the carpet for the grim reaper.
We love sticking our nose everywhere else but home. FIX THIS COUNTRY AND STAY OUT OF EVERYONE ELSE'S REAR!!! It's the economy stupid.
Aztlan, I have to agree with you. Our country needs fixing, schools, roads, bridges, etc all going to hell in a hurry. When will it end? Doesn't matter what party is in control, they are just the same, with a different name.
Sadly the name of the game is Death for Profit. The manipulators ( Bankers of the World ) just don't care about anything but money.
SallyAnn is right. No matter how thin you slice it bologna is still bologna, and there are still two sides.