Syria

[Aggers]

I suppose the theory is that if our bombs/missiles/etc. kill civilians quickly, it's not a crime.

What idiots are running our country?

[KateLMead]

Ego.. "I am in charge" Just like the monster B'Liar filling his coffers, The Grand Reaper, who is egging Cameron on to take action..
Well if the fool does he has Russia, Iran, China, Argentina and a few more countries just waiting to put the boot into this country where it belongs, we are "a Has Been". We have been governed by fools for far too long, every thing we touch falls apart, we create disaster after disaster, Look at Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, what a terrible state they are in worse now than before these country were invaded By The Grand Reaper.. How can these idiots go against the wishes of the British people 75% of whom are against getting involved..
Let us do what we can for the tragic innocents fleeing to Iraq and Turkey, Rather than allowing a million more from Romania and Bulgaria and elsewhere lets open our hearts and welcome men women and children made homeless and traumatised.

[Workingman]

.... lets open our hearts and welcome men women and children made homeless and traumatised.

Sorry Kate, I do understand where you are coming from, but we are going to be on different sides on this one.

The way to stop an exodus and displacement of a large section of a society is to help to prevent the cause in the first place. These people rarely, if ever, go back, yet they are the core of the peaceful ones. When they leave they create a vacuum back home - and problems for their new hosts. My view is that they are more valuable to the new version of their old country than they are as refugees with no roots in their new home(s).

We cannot keep welcoming the displaced from around the planet to the detriment of our own society. It is time to put a hell of lot more work into stopping the causes of these exoduses from ever happening. War is not the way to go about such things.

[TheOstrich]

I couldn't agree more, WM. I have every sympathy for those who are currently homeless - but there is no future for either them or us in giving them carte blanche asylum in this country. Our foreign aid budget should be targeted on helping them restore their own society in their own lands. That would be a far better use of the foreign aid budget than promoting Nigerian astronauts ........

[KateLMead]

Primarily I truly believed we should go into Syria, now with the risks entailed the threats from Russia Iran and even China I
am not so sure. Assad is a tyrant he has set his intentions out loud and clear not caring how many of those poor people are massacred made homeless and maimed.I saw the reunion of the father and his little boy whom he thought had been killed
I wept. The Middle East is in turmoil this can be laid at the feet of B'liar.
Maybe being a woman I am governed by emotion, as the humanitarian aspect is what fills my mind. And B'Liar the war Monterrey shouts attack! He has not learned a thing other than how to make money from his crimes.

[Suff]

I'm wondering just how much power the US has with the UK.

It makes my contention that 9/11 was an internal US job and that Afghanistan was an illegal war, more credible as each event unfolds.

It's time for Russia and China to pull out the veto. They've done it before and this is a good time to do it again. Cameron is not strong enough (or foolish enough), to go against the UN when it stands against him.

Iran, of course, is making things worse by threatening Israel. Whilst they understand the soft spot, they don't understand the politics which might just get them "regime changed".

[cromwell]

I suppose the theory is that if our bombs/missiles/etc. kill civilians quickly, it's not a crime.

What idiots are running our country?

That puzzles me too Aggers. Apparently it is acceptable to be shot, but being gassed is beyond the pale!

[pederito1]

The use of chemical weapons is absolutely abhorrent unless of course it is done by america in the interests of Freedom and Democracy.
I think the answer to you wondering about their influence, Suff is one word, ie infinite. I believe Cameron is foolish enough, egged on by that dreadful Hague to do anything to try and make out he is a world power, even ignore UN resolutions if necessary.
I am all for conspiracy theories eg Kennedy and Diana but I cannot really believe they had anything to do with the 11 September attack, though may have known it might happen, if only perhaps they would not have been able to find pilots willing to commit suicide.

[Suff]

Have you seen Loose change on youtube Ped?

Two days after 9/11 I said to Mrs S "Something really doesn't add up here, could they really have done this themselves?". I dropped it for many years with the "They'd never get away with it, it would come out".

As far as I can see, loose change is it coming out. But, of course, once you've had two wars and changed the course of east west relations, you can't admit to it can you? You'd be a war criminal!!

Right or wrong, loose change asks a lot of questions I have also asked. The answers are not there for most of them.

So do I trust the US when it goes off attacking the Arab world?

NO.

[Workingman]

I am still not sure it was Assad's side who used the gas. There are all sorts of bluffs and double bluffs going on, but this has swayed me slightly that it was a put-up job.

http://dissenter.firedoglake.com/2011/0 ... -in-syria/

The excerpts from Wikileaks make for interesting reading.

ETA. I emailed my MP telling him that if he or his party supported military action in Syria they would lose my confidence and my vote.

He wrote back to tell me that it was not clear what had happened and that it was not clear what the motion in the Commons would be but that would be vitally important that the UN inspectors are allowed to complete their inspections and report back. However, there were lots of "if it was Assad" references and the need for a proper response to show that using CW would not be tolerated.

I wrote back to tell him that I had read what he had to say and that I had also read between the lines and that I would be watching how he votes very closely.

I also told him that it was ok to bomb Syria with food, tents and medicines, but to leave any military action to others.