Muslims can't get along with Christians. They can't get along with Jews. They can't get along with Hindus. And they can't get along with themselves. Does anyone see a pattern here?

@ Mikem2

That assumption is incorrect, and they also have strong aviation.

fas.org

Excellent points, HonestJ.

Reminds me of Christianity's experiences. Catholics, Lutherans, Protestant, etc.. couldn't get along. Hell, they launched Global Crusades, Unleashed the Inquisition, burned "witches", razed entire civilizations (Aztecs, anyone?).

Oh. But we were talking about Islam, weren't we?

My apologies for getting off-topic.

You are an idiot. Turkey has allies who have the means necessary to help them enforce a no fly zone.

Turkey needs no allies to help.

Their air defense includes the M113, which is a type of APC that was precursor to the Bradly M1A2 IFV. They are likely fitted with Vulcan cannons and the bofors array, for short range direct fire.

Each is also fitted with between 3 and 6 of the Raytheon industries AIM Stingers. I am unsure which, though it is likely they are the AIM-9L.

They can additionally support a wide variety of TOW missiles for fly by wire targetting, and assorted pods for both MPSM and FFAR rockets.

They have at least 30 batteries of SAM to back that up.

Not that they would require it, as Syria's air wing can not target effectively from any upper altitudes. They are still on the pipper with LOS targetting.

Reminds me of Christianity's experiences

What an odd comment. Maybe you should crack a paper once in a while, say any from the last 60 years.. If you are attempting to make some crazy justification for Muslim hate around the word you are way off the mark. attempting to compare what has been happening around the globe by Muslims today cannot be compared to hundreds of years ago. Really very silly.

"The apple doesn't fall far from the tree", and the Assad doesn't fall far from the family tree. Assad's father massacred 40,000+ Syrian civilian men, women and children and the son will not stop until he has equaled or exceeded that number, ... or until he himself is killed.

After the atrocities committed at his direction and command, the only resolution to this human tragedy is Assad's death. Assad has forfeited his right to continue to live on this Earth.

In the name of humanity NATO can and should deliver the death penalty to Assad for crimes against humanity. What greater use is there for "smart" weapons, than to swiftly rid the world of brutal despots, and provide clear lessons to despots-in-waiting of the fate which could also be their lot.

They also use the Raytheon FIM-92 C, which is an ATA as well as AA missile that is capable of 26,000 ft range, is easily manpad portable when required, and uses a combination targetting system that is very difficult to avoid. Many of their M113 carry this missile, as well as their attack helicopters, of which they have numerous.

Just let them kill each other. That is less mess for whoever is left over.

Next.

The Rebels (Activist) started this War and should expect people to be killed by those they attack. Assad, love him or hate him, has the right to defend his country against the Terrorist Supported Rebels. Other countries, by supplying weapons to the Rebels (Activist), are encouraging and supporting the death of thousands of Syrian's. When the rebels fight their war from residential areas and use civilians as shields they can expect those civilians to be killed. Assad has every right to use whatever is at his disposal to defend the country. The U..S. (CIA), Turkey and NATO should stay away from Syria and the Syrian issue will solve itself.

Mikem2,

"Turkey does not have the missiles to enforce a no-fly zone. Stinger missiles are for short range defense only. Only Syria can enforce a no-fly zone there."

Are you sure about that? Aside from the capabilities indicated in the post above by Hatchet, in 2010 Turkey was discussing the purchase of S-300 (SA-10) surface-to-air missiles with Russia. Here is a link to one article about it:

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20100616/159449041.html

That was in 2010. I did not find anything saying whether or not the deal had gone through, though. The S-300 would be more than capable of shooting down Syrian aircraft if the Turks have them. I'm not sure if they have them or not.

170 massed tanks would make a beautiful target indeed!

If anything good comes out of this, it appears terrorists (Al Qaeda for example) have their focus and priority on killing other muslims in Syria and Iraq... not necessarily on killing Americans.

Short range AIR defense only. They cannot be used on tanks. They could but not very effectively though.

Yep send in the A-10 Warthogs backed up with infantry based TOW Hummers and Anti-Tank LAV's supported by a few platoons of M1A2 Abrams tanks. The battle would be over in a day.

It would Dessert Storm all over again.

@ dwighthuth

Had it occurred to you that a US military incursion would certainly bring Iran into the war?

Iran would end up relying upon Russia for it's cooperation.

Iran and China would have import costs driven into a new plane.

I think that just might take more than a day to resolve.

The only military that might be able to reolve this is the Turkish, and I would not be too anxious if I were them either.

@Mikem,

Wrongo Bucko! Turkey has coverage ovar all of Syria from within Turkey. They have Soviet-designated SA-12 (300V version) and SA-10 (S-300) missile systems, as well as SA-15 TOR short and medium-range systems.

And Turkey has something Assad and his Russian and Iranian supporters don't have --- 90 NATO nukes --- 40 of them under Turkish lock and key. People forget that NATO has weapons-sharing groups that stockpile American-made B61's.

To HONESTJ

I am no friend to any religion, but what you say is horseshiat. Our own problems with Muslims have come from our feeling free to lie to them, cheat them, bomb them at will, steal their lands and resources, et cetera.

The Sephardic (real) Jews and the Palestinians, hell, they were ALL Palestinians, living in a thousand year peace until the rabid khazari zionists (pseudojews) moved in and started running massacres of Palestinian villages and stealing everything that wasn't tied down, and the land as well.

Chistians have a solid 2000 years of warring with each other. Your knowledge of history can't be THAT deficient, can it?

If you recall the movie "Slumdog Millionaire", it starts out with a huge gang of murderous Hindis attacking a peaceful poor neighborhood of Muslims and killing many including the hero's mother.

All human identity groups try to eat the group next to them, whether nationalisms or theisms or just plain naked greed as in capitalisms. In fact, all 'isms' compete with all other isms for the territory of the human mind and very often for the physical territory that those human minds occupy. Such competition in the form of cospecific mass murder is THE MOST defining characteristic of the species Humanzee. So-called Humanzee 'intelligence' is a distant second. Please step outside of yourself and look at the world from a less prejudiced perspective and you will see that all humans share exactly the same behavioral characteristics. You don't have to get very far away from Earth to see the antlike sameness of human behavior, maybe a thousand feet (~300 m) or less and we all blend together into a primitive mass of ignorance. Try to remember that a religion is a perceptual blindfold that denies all that it cannot fit into its narrow focus. It turns all of its imprisoned minds into masochistic acceptors of psychotic beliefs and of psychopathic personalities called 'gods' where fear of the god's disapproval and its erratic behavior, and the religiously enhanced fear of death itself, somehow translates out as 'love' (?).

If Assad isn't our pawn, then it's not hard to understand why our propaganda machine favors the 'rebels'. We've been doing exactly the same thing in all parts of the world for a hunnert years whenever the legitimate 'ruler' won't let us screw his people in the arse and steal everything we can. Nothing new here. Move along. There'll be another show in a short time, same scenario, different folks. Hoorah for us.

"Syrian Rebels say..." lol. Probably the same "rebels" that told us what was going on is Libya. Probably the same people that gave us the yellow cake false intel that got us into the Iraq War. Probably the same people that said our ships were attacked at the gulf of tonkin. Probably the same people who withheld the intercepted messages on Pearl Harbor before it was destroyed. Etc...

Mikem2

Turkey does not have the missiles to enforce a no-fly zone. Stinger missiles are for short range defense only. Only Syria can enforce a no-fly zone there.

1. Turkey is ranked number 6 in GFP (Global Firepower)

2. Syria is ranked number 36 in GFP

3. Turkey is a NATO Member Nation, it Syria attacks Turkey, NATO is duty bound (by treaty) to intervene on the side of the Member Nation.

It's not clear to me how you came to your conclusion.

@ JaneEco

Nice spin, but you might want to look over the whole posting, and not excerpt, then you may better understand the difference.

Here is the previous paragraph that you selectively omitted.

"It's true that America cannot use our military wherever repression occurs. And
given the costs and risks of intervention, we must always measure our interests
against the need for action. But that cannot be an argument for never acting on
behalf of what's right. In this particular country -– Libya -- at this
particular moment, we were faced with the prospect of violence on a horrific
scale. We had a unique ability to stop that violence: an international mandate
for action, a broad coalition prepared to join us, the support of Arab
countries, and a plea for help from the Libyan people themselves. We also had
the ability to stop Qaddafi's forces in their tracks without putting American
troops on the ground."

B. Obama

Looks like the humans are making full use of their chimpanzee genes here. Tribalism reigns supreme. But I smell genocide.

I think Russia and China want us to get involved. So we can further weaken ourselves. No I don't think they would intervene on behalf of Syria.

If we have the ability than its our obligation? But we have the ability to put a lot of pressure on other countries to stand up as well.

Human Rights is a Human Concept not an American Concept.

@ MDB123

Correct that Russia will not get involved.

They sent 3 ships to Syria to prepare for evacuation of their base should the need arise.

China has no interest in gettng involved either, and are likely prepared to tell Iran that what happens is not within their control or influence.

The USA is only obligated as far as forming a political opinion.

Article5 is not a binding treatise in the M.E. , though a seperatist nation may feel snubbed if not included.

Relations with Turkey are good, but they really do not need the help.

enough is enough. We are not the worlds police.

Other Nations need to stand up as we have and would for them. Egypt, Iran and many others would second guess their tactics if they witnessed a group of Nations without the cooperation of the U.S.
stand up for human rights.

The United States is a Bully tactic would be moot.

R in Oregon What do you and the rest know about Syria or the history about Syria. You know what the western media PROPAGANDA tell you. First Assad dad took out the Muslim Brotherhood and there was 10,000 of them. These brotherhood are terrorist that started killing people like they are kill people today. I am a Christian from Syria and today the Muslim brotherhood are doing worst then before and you people support these terrorist who are funded by the Saudis Qataris and the UAE and etc. I have family who fought in WWII in the US army and I've been here in the USA for along time and I have family in Syria. The Christian people are getting killed left and right but Bashar Al- Assad is the only President in the middle east that always protected the Christian people and in Syria and Lebanon are the only two countries in the middle east that you have the freedom of religion. Would you like the USA to become like Saudi Arabia Qatar Egypt and the other countries in the middle east where they hate Christianity. Look around you here in the US all the Temples the Muslims are building and the Saudis are paying people to convert to Islam. They are buying up old Churches and converting to their temples. Saudis are Wahabi's and they hate the Christian people. They want Christianity wiped off the face of the earth so wake up everyone stop listening to main stream media. 911 19 Saudis and the other day in Texas a Saudi and AL qaida all Saudis all these Saudis are terrorist. They hate everyone.

That's a real bummer, Will. I feel for the Christians of Syria and hope they manage to escape persecution and violence however they can.

On the other hand, as someone who is not religious myself, there's absolutely nothing about those Christians that make them more important than any other Syrian to me. In fact, if they support Assad's oppression and bloody crackdown just out of fear for themselves, then I'm actually obliged to care about them LESS than the Muslims who go out and protest for their rights even at risk of being shot.

Furthermore, even if everything you said was true, and I have no reason to believe you're not spreading PROPAGANDA yourself, it still doesn't change or excuse any of Assad's actions. The man must fall.

So, SF you must fully support Jefferson Davis, Robert Lee, and all of the other Rebels who fought against the legitimate government of the United States to preserve their slave owning way of life. The Syrian rebels are no different, except that they are flea-bitten 4th century fanatic followers of Bronze Age Superstition who want to impose their despicable way of life on all Syrians, especially including women and children.

"anti-regime groups reported what one called a "hideous massacre" in Douma"

Look who are talking!

Syrian rebels are supported by the Saudi Sunni Islamic religious Nazis like al-Qaida, MB and others.

Look at the irony.

In other places, for Sunni al-Qaida, MB and other label Sunni Islamic militants, US and West are No. 1 enemy!

For some, who have their heads burried in the sand, they want to arm them and help them!

Good observations!

I too am tired of our media not showing a proper level of support for dictatorships. Perhaps had they been kinder to Saadam, and not so obviously one-slanted in their coverage of his so-called "atrocities", he might still be around.

[Welcome to Snarkville. Population: You.]

The original report came out of Lebanon, not Syria. Over and over they have stated that free press is not allowed in Syria. Read more and you will understand.

Also keep in mind that the conflict is internal to Syria. Syrian killing Syrian. Of course there is outside intervention from many countries outside Syria.

How do you think Assad came to power in the first place?

A Ba'ath Party Socialist, Allied to Shia nations, and Hamas, running a Sunni populated country.

Why is anyone surprised the Syrian people want him out?

Also note that the Syrian government military will not stop shelling long enough for UN inspectors to enter these 'war' zones to actually confirm or refute what is reported.

Here's the "big picture":

1) Syria is ruled by a small Alawite Shiite sect that comprises less than 15% of the population. They use the Baath Party to keep absolute power, just like Sadaam Hissein. Now, Iran is the only Shiite country in the world. Iraq is the only other majority Shiite country in the world and they are moving closer to Iran every day (along with their oil.) The rest of the Muslim world is Sunni --- and there is incredible bad blood between shiites and Sunnis. So, Iran is supplying arms like mad to Assad because it doesn't want to lost its most prominent ally.

2) Russia's access to the Black Sea is threatened by both the dissolution of the Soviet Empire and the fact that their enemy the Turks control the access to the Black Sea. So Russia has exactly one overseas military base (versus over 2,000 American bases) --- Aleppo, Syria just south of the Turkish border. If Russia loses the Aleppo port facility they effectively lose access to both the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. This is hugely important to Putin personally because he negotiated the deal.

3) Nobody messes with the Turks. Turkey is a highly militarized country. This is for two reasons: Attaturk set up the military as important guarantors of a secular Turkey, and they are armed to the teeth against their traditional enemy, Greece ---- Cyprus is even heating back up again with the Greek economic problems changing the balance of power. The Russian soldiers call Turkey the place where the Speznatz won't go. They were our allies in the Korean War and were hugely praised as extremely good soldiers. And there is no love lost for Russia and they especially hate having a new Russian base in their rear.

4) Lebanon is a powder keg that people have largely ignored lately. Lebanon seems to have settled down, but Lebanon's modern fate has always been manipulated by Syria. Now forces, such as the Druze, are eyeing the power vacuum and there are a lot of old scores still to be settled if Syria drops the reins. And an unstable Lebanon automatically alarms paranoid Israel.

So, there are a lot of high-value chips in the pot and a lot of players with nothing to lose and a lot to gain. The fireworks could go on for years.

@ Chris

Great Job !

It did overlook Azerbaijan, and Both Iraq and Iran were / are Shia majority.

Azerbaijan is happy on the outside anyway, and are part of the NATO alliance.

CHris you right about couple of things buddy , But Aleppo is no port city . I can assure you that .

Really, turn? Now the Saudis are bribing our media, too?

So let's see now, according to you, Saudi Arabia and Quatar have bribed:

The Syrian people to revolt

Al Queda to attack Syria

The entire country of Turkey to militarize the border of (and possibly attack) Syria

Multiple American news outlets, many of which are run by multi-billion dollar conglomerates that all compete (so you'd have to bribe them all)

Just how much money do you think these countries HAVE, turn? How do these countries with a fraction of our GDP throw around so much power and influence and still have the cash to feed themselves? Saudi Arabia just isn't the almighty bogeyman you want it to be.

But hey, I've given you plenty of chances up until now, so I'll ask again: how do you know that these sources are false? What makes MSNBC less trustworthy than media controlled by the Syrian government?

I await your answer, oh omnipotent one.

"The group gave details for the killings of 10 members of the same family, including four chidren, their mothers and grandmother."

Do the Islamic suicide bombers, especially the Sunni variety, bother about these when they blow up innocents in non-Muslim and Muslim nations?

Do the Saudis, oil companies, lobbyists and their agents like media, human rights groups, UN and its cheap agencies, Hillarys, McCains, Liebermann bother about them?

If they can see all directions with proper visions and open mind, they should start from Nigeria, Sudan, Pakistan, Iraq (where democracy is established and the Iraqi forces are well trained)!

Before Iraqi wars, we had similar craps/garbage were trumped by many like the current Syrian and Iranian ones!

you might if this escalates into a third world war.

EROCK17 You are right: WW3 or Armaggedon depending on one's Worldview, but,

hopefully, the leaders will get serious on the Syrian situation on Saturday.

You cared enough to read the article and even leave a comment for it.

So if it doesn't matter to you, why are you wasting your time?

We should not bother!

Unfortunately, many with guns are jumping all around like George Bush/Texas Cowboys on Syria, Iran and other places.

In that case, we will have WWIII on us!

We could not do much on Iraqi wars nor house foreclosures, unemployment, huge loans and austerity measures!

They should start recalling Mogadishu days in Somalia before jumping into wars!

Iraq, Afghan wars are another disaster for those who jump at the drop of a hat! Anyhow they are not going to wars! Instead they are sending others!

ehhh it will not cost that much to "light em up". Assad grouping most of his forces in one small area 170 tanks and attack choppers would be like fish in a barrel to a few A-10's with a few fighters to take out anti-air defense. I say good training opportunity for the turk's. We should sell them those items god knows we could use the revenue.

You'd think NATO was a created subsidiary of the U.S.

Oh wait.

It is.

It sure feels that way sometimes, but the US wasn't leading NATO around by the nose in Libya.

Yeah, but this civil war will also determine if Putin's navy has access to the Black Sea and even the Mediterranean in the case of even limited hostilities. And it could easily drag Israel into it by destabilizing Lebanon in the process. Then, God knows what.

Not necessarily. Iraq was a forced conversion to democracy, so it doesn't make a very good example. If Assad is removed without a foreign invasion, things could break down into sectarian war, but that depends on how the rebels handle the power vacuum.

It's definitely going to be ugly, though. Revolutions always are. Libya was a cakewalk compared to what the SNC is looking at.

Very short-sighted by Obama and Clinton?

Iraq?

Afghanistan I (80's, under Reagan I believe, we fought the Soviet installed government via proxy by creating and arming the... islamic militants)

Afghanistan II (00's, under Bushie I believe)

Iran? (1952, democratically elected government of Iran was overthrown and the Shah of Iran was put into power until 1979 when Islamic militants overthrew the brutal dictator the U.S. had inflicted them with).

Chile? Had a democratically elected government (President Allende) until a coup was launched by the CIA, at the behest of Henry Kissinger under Nixon, which installed General Pinochet into power as a dictator.

Cambodia? At the behest of Henry Kissinger, bombing runs were conducted to punish the Cambodians for not supporting the U.S. Vietnam "adventure", leading to the rise of Pol Pot and the subsequent death of millions.

Obama & Clinton's "foreign policy" is no different than that perpetrated by prior American regimes.

@ V8

If you are going to make statements that are completely basesless and false, you should at least state your sources so that the stupidity does not appear to be your own.

Not to dismiss V8 as anything but crazy, Johnathan, but that may have been precisely his point.

IF Obama's Middle East strategy were as V proposed, then it would follow a predictable pattern of mistakes that have often come back to bite us in our collective rear.

Luckily for us, Obama isn't nearly as involved in this as V suggests, so even if things do turn out badly, at worst you could only accuse him of inaction during the Arab Spring (which is at least cheaper).

On May 4, 1970, four students were killed and nine wounded by National Guard troops at Kent State University in Ohio. The students were protesting the invasion of Cambodia, announced by Richard Nixon the week before.

Kent State University
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/During_an_antiwar_protest_four_students_were_killed_by_National_Guard_soldiers_at_what_college#ixzz1zCzaOdGC

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kent_State_shootings

Need more?

4 vs. 15,000. One mistake against a years worth of daily "mistakes".

@ Gabriel

I positioned an example. There are numerous.

You might consider that there was a tiny altercation of civil unrest in the United States of America. It came in the 19th century, when the US were already well established.

It was called THE CIVIL WAR.

I'm not going to argue that the United States handled itself better during our own civil war, but that was a long time ago and at least the Confederacy had already seceded first.

Assad seems to be pulling every tyrant stereotype in the book, from torture and arbitrary arrests to lauching artillery barrages on his own cities and riling up paramilitary groups to fight for him outside of his formal military command structure. He has shown a fundamental and consistent inability to protect his people from both the rebels and his own soldiers.

Probably, but they have the advantage of no accountability. Assad has a responsibility to protect his country and its people, and he has thoroughly ignored that responsibility in favor of holding on to power.

If a rebel blows up your office building, it's bad, but it's kind of what they do. When your government blows up your office building, it's a little more galling, especially as your tax dollars paid for the explosive.

I believe Russia has denied shipment of anti aircraft missile to Syria in order to avoid escalation of the conflict. Putin is doing what he can, although falling short of supporting a regime change, or asking Assad to step down.

Russia does not want this conflict any more than any other nation does.

Like ALL nations involved, they are handling it the best way they KNOW how.

Annon is like having a small dog. Sure they bark alot but they don't really have any power at all.

"_"

Ankara’s move came as world powers prepared for a crucial meeting on ways to end the raging conflict in Syria and to discuss a plan by peace envoy Kofi Annan for an interim government.

The meeting in Geneva, agreed only after wrangling between Moscow and Washington over the agenda and the guest list, will be attended by some regional governments but not by rival Middle East heavyweights Iran and Saudi Arabia.

According to a copy of his transition plan obtained by AFP, Annan will demand “irreversible” steps by President Bashar al-Assad and the Syrian opposition to end the conflict.

A blueprint for multi-party elections and an offer for “significant” international funding to rebuild Syria will also be discussed. "_"

http://www.defencetalk.com/turkey-reinforces-border-as-syria-violence-rages-43450/#ixzz1zCxWoZkm

There seems to be an abundance of humans, and a shortage of whales, hence the focus of groups which lobby for the same. Trees are important to us all.

Mind you, I have never been shot at by a whale, or had a tree try to blow my arse up.

Food for thought.

Hey, just because we're better at killing doesn't mean they wouldn't do it to us if they were in a position to do so.

Welcome to evolution. Winner: Humans.

Plenty of children are still dying from the effects of depleted Uranium in Iraq. It was no mystery that such things would happen given the weaponry being used, and your government lied so they could go use it anyway. Children are getting caught in crossfires and pathetic troop killing sprees all over Afghanistan and Libya as well since wayward U.S. soldiers and America's proxy army AlQ have been left to do as they please with the locals. So go ahead. Turn the missiles around so they face you, and push your button. No idea whatsoever what you're waiting for, unless it's a drum roll. Everyone loves a drum roll.

Really Herrin? "wayward U.S. soldiers" and "pathetic troop killing sprees". Show your links to what you claim.

I won't wait, because you can't.

@ Herrin

Nice SOAPBOX, but more children and women died from infighting and IED's than did during the bombing during the war.

http://www.google.com/publicdata/explore?ds=d5bncppjof8f9_&met_y=sh_dyn_mort&idim=country:IRQ&dl=en&hl=en&q=child+deaths+in+iraq

"Apart from media reports, Iraq Body Count uses figures from morgues and hospitals since the war started.

However, the authors focused on only 60,481 deaths linked to specific events, excluding Iraqis killed in prolonged episodes of violence during the US-led invasion and the US sieges of the former insurgent stronghold of Fallujah in 2004.

The study found that 19,706 of the victims, or 33 per cent, were abducted and killed execution-style, with nearly a third of those showing signs of torture such as bruises, drill holes or burns.

That compared with 16,922, or 27 per cent, who died in bombings, most of them in suicide attacks"

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iraq/5161326/Number-of-women-and-children-killed-in-Iraq-air-raids-disproportionately-high.html

http://www.iraqbodycount.org/database/

Turkey doesn't need NATO. Not at all.

If everything goes as you wish, Herrin, I hope your bags are already packed for your relocation to Syria.

It would be 'SUCH A WONDERFUL' place for you to live.

http://www.hrw.org/world-report-2011/syria

There was no significant change in Syrian human rights policy and practice in 2010. Authorities continued to broadly violate the civil and political rights of citizens, arresting political and human rights activists, censoring websites, detaining bloggers, and imposing travel bans.

Emergency rule, imposed in 1963, remains in effect and Syria's multiple security agencies continue to detain people without arrest warrants, holding them incommunicado for lengthy periods. The Supreme State Security Court (SSSC), an exceptional court with almost no procedural guarantees, regularly sentences Kurdish activists and Islamists to long prison terms.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/may/21/syria-women-unrest-repression

Syria's defiant women risk all to protest against President Bashar al-Assad

Women on the frontline of demonstrations against Syria's brutal regime are now being targeted by security forces

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-17341613

She was filming a group of Syrian women who had agreed to hold a silent
protest at one of the busiest markets in the capital, Damascus, in support of
pro-democracy demonstrators in the southern city of Deraa.

"This scene shocked people in the market," Maya says. "As soon as we reached
the central square, security forces arrested the young amongst us."

Maya's experience in prison helped her break through the barrier of fear.

Since that day, she has become involved on a daily basis in the uprising. But
she is now concerned about being arrested and has gone into hiding.

"I had to run one day from them and hide under a car in a car park. Today, I
have a year of work as an activist against the regime and if they get me, it
won't be easy," she explains.

Hatchet Buddy , you sounds like a pretty informed guy , Till you started writing and commenting the same stories and lies that our media is telling us , I remember the lady that was violated in Libya and CNN went crazy over the story , Nick Robinson from CNN and Anderson Cooper every night that's all what they talked about , Try to find out where is at now buddy , Qatar and see how much money she got for all these fabrication , Her and our news Media guys , you telling now that Assad killing and murdering all these people , I have to tell you do not know what you are talking about , Sorry but I seen today a guy was hanging from high rise building and they threw him down head first , that was some Muslims brother hood gang , they thought he was helping the regime , Christians are been murdered and their Churches been burned by these Alqada rebels , So do not try to tell us these rebels are freedom fighters , I remember one SOB name Osama Bin Ladin was a freedom fighter and we trained him at one time , These thugs are no better . the problem is nobody telling us the truth , I know some Christians still living in Syria and they have no reason to lie , they lived there all there lives and they were respected , Unlike our friends the Saudis and Qataris and the Dam Turks , Go over there Hatchet and try to pray or wear your cross and see what happened to you .

You would not find me praying or wearing a cross as I do not believe in a supreme being.

No doubt there are atrocities in EVERY war, and even in local conflicts.

Because there are thugs in any organization, it does not mean the organization as a whole is guilty.

If this were true, we should put all the Catholics in prison for molesting children.

Assad ordered the crackdown and further shelling of Syrian towns, and regular citizens. Citizens who are defenseless against it. That is murder.

I see little point to expressing what a few people did to a select few victims when the Syrian military has killed over 10,000.

The history of the prior government proves the point. Assad remains as his father was.

In this case, change MUST start from the top. Dictatorships usually work that way.

Herrin, to all your questions, please see the following:

Yes.

It turns out that when the dictator running the country kill enough of his own people, you can get away with all SORTS of crazy stuff!

And my turn, once again an excellent attempt - though still a failure - to call the story a lie and then "prove" it using a bunch of unrelated, irrelevant evidence. Nothing you said proves or even suggests that Assad isn't every bit the monster the media is making him out to be. It's been well established that he shows no special hatred from Christians. Good for him. He's still gonna die.

Clearly, militant Islamists and Al-Queda are hoping to benefit from the conflict. Whether they prevail in the end is up to the Syrian people.

And the world has seen how well muslims make those choices in Iran, Gaza, and Lebanon.

Syria, will be a sharia @!$%#hole even faster than Egypt or Yemen, or Libya, or (enter muslim country name)

Why should we listen to the ridicule of those of other countries?

If Alexander the Great would have listened to ridicule from other countries then the world that we know it today would still be barbaric and untamed.

No progress must go forward against those who ridicule progress for the betterment of the world at large.

A group of barbarian tribesman are not the world at large.

If we stay the hell out of it and do not intervene the terrorist forces that struck at America will regroup and attack twice as hard in Iraq and Syria.

The death toll is mounting in Syria the same way that Saddam tried to wipe a people off the face of the Earth in Iraq.

This time however Russia under Putin is making the move in Syria so he can move weapons into the area in order to support the Taliban forces in driving out American forces so that Russia can gain control over the Middle East.

Once Russia gains control over the Middle East the entire area will be controlled by a joint Russian / Chinese partnership.

Its coming America.

@ dwighthuth

Interesting theory. Glad you did not let any facts get in your way.

Regime change is not always a good thing, that's true. And trying to democratize via military invasion was a mistake that we've hopefully learned not to attempt again.

However, I'll take regime change over stagnation. Sink or swim, humans have to keep moving forward.

Unfortunately, it is much simpler than all that.

Shia believe that position of authority and the will of Allah can only be handed down through the descendents of Mohammed. An entitlement.

Sunni believe that authority should be a delegation of elected leaders and their appointees. A smple form of democracy.

The lesser factionalized groups led by regional Imam are preposterously more self-serving. Jihadist.

Clerics across these regions support different idealisms for different reasons, but nearly never the will of the majority. Willing to go along for the ride.

It much more simple than that. This is my heaven and you religious freaks are burnng it up. I say that Christians and Mohammadians all STFU and keep your peace or you all die. Simple!

Hatchet, I can't stand religious people like you. I don't think they, or you, know what "God" really is. If you were right with your assumptions of "God" there wouldn't be any killing. So far, Sunni or Shi'ite, or what ever it is, you guys have done nothing but act like little chidren, crying for power at everyone else's expense. That, to me, is a good reason for rebellion. And with rebellion, comes a lot of death. Hopefully we will all prevail with your kind going to Islam, and the Christians going to Heaven, and the rest of non-violent peoples can live in our heaven without you fools stinking the place up with the deaths of innocent people.

May you die and go to Islam as soon as possible.

@ Kingof Fools

LMAO !!

I have no beleif in any god of any sort, but you must be too dim witted to realize that.

What I have is an understanding of a wide variety of religions, and THEIR set of beleifs. I have the greatest degree of tolerance for people and their wishes, at least in cases where their IQ passes their shoe size.

My most sincere regrets that you don't fit the bill.