Otoki said:
I wonder if any of the surrounding countries would get involved. Sounds like a clusterfuck all around.
I'd be surprised if Iran stays out of it. Syria is Iran's biggest ally
Perhaps I am being far fetched here but if Iran did get involved then maybe Israel would use it as an excuse to start firing missiles at Iran (ostensibly as part of the Syria conflict but with the real motive being to try to blow up any nuclear research facilities).
Otoki said:
I wonder if any of the surrounding countries would get involved. Sounds like a clusterfuck all around.
I'd be surprised if Iran stays out of it. Syria is Iran's biggest ally
Perhaps I am being far fetched here but if Iran did get involved then maybe Israel would use it as an excuse to start firing missiles at Iran (ostensibly as part of the Syria conflict but with the real motive being to try to blow up any nuclear research facilities).
And ten years later, a woman on a beach in Australia swallows a cyanide capsule as her lover sinks his submarine.
Otoki said:
I wonder if any of the surrounding countries would get involved. Sounds like a clusterfuck all around.
I'd be surprised if Iran stays out of it. Syria is Iran's biggest ally
Expect this to play out as Saudi backed Rebels vs Iranian backed Government troops. Syria is made up of mostly Suni Moslems, ruled by a minority Shia Iranian backed government.
Otoki said:
I wonder if any of the surrounding countries would get involved. Sounds like a clusterfuck all around.
I'd be surprised if Iran stays out of it. Syria is Iran's biggest ally
Expect this to play out as Saudi backed Rebels vs Iranian backed Government troops. Syria is made up of mostly Suni Moslems, ruled by a minority Shia Iranian backed government.
The government is mostly Alawites a "branch" of the Shia. Must - not all - Sunni and Shia consider the Alawis to not be Muslim and heretical
Otoki Turkey has already threatened to cross the boarder and set up safe zones for Syrian citizens.
Otoki said:
I wonder if any of the surrounding countries would get involved. Sounds like a clusterfuck all around.
I'd be surprised if Iran stays out of it. Syria is Iran's biggest ally
Expect this to play out as Saudi backed Rebels vs Iranian backed Government troops. Syria is made up of mostly Suni Moslems, ruled by a minority Shia Iranian backed government.
The government is mostly Alawites a "branch" of the Shia. Must - not all - Sunni and Shia consider the Alawis to not be Muslim and heretical
Otoki Turkey has already threatened to cross the boarder and set up safe zones for Syrian citizens.
Turkey has the second largest NATO army, would be very interesting.
Otoki said:
I wonder if any of the surrounding countries would get involved. Sounds like a clusterfuck all around.
I'd be surprised if Iran stays out of it. Syria is Iran's biggest ally
Expect this to play out as Saudi backed Rebels vs Iranian backed Government troops. Syria is made up of mostly Suni Moslems, ruled by a minority Shia Iranian backed government.
The government is mostly Alawites a "branch" of the Shia. Must - not all - Sunni and Shia consider the Alawis to not be Muslim and heretical
Otoki Turkey has already threatened to cross the boarder and set up safe zones for Syrian citizens.
Turkey has the second largest NATO army, would be very interesting.
Otoki said:
I wonder if any of the surrounding countries would get involved. Sounds like a clusterfuck all around.
I'd be surprised if Iran stays out of it. Syria is Iran's biggest ally
Expect this to play out as Saudi backed Rebels vs Iranian backed Government troops. Syria is made up of mostly Suni Moslems, ruled by a minority Shia Iranian backed government.
The government is mostly Alawites a "branch" of the Shia. Must - not all - Sunni and Shia consider the Alawis to not be Muslim and heretical
Otoki Turkey has already threatened to cross the boarder and set up safe zones for Syrian citizens.
Turkey has the second largest NATO army, would be very interesting.
Interesting is a...diplomatic way to put it.
Suffice to say Syria would be smart to not antagonize the Turks into having to send troops south.
Apparently Iraq is on record as opposing any action against Syria including the Arab League sanctions. A spokesman interviewed by the BBC definitely cited a 'Shia v Sunni' element to this. It strikes me as further evidence that the lives of our soldiers and a fair bit of our treasure went to helping strengthen Shia political power. Iraq/Iran/Syria seem to be in alignment on this.
Russia's foreign minister has accused the West of an "immoral" stance on Syria, saying it should condemn the opposition as well as security forces.
Sergei Lavrov said opposition groups were trying to provoke a "humanitarian catastrophe" to get foreign help.
The comments came after UN human rights chief Navi Pillay told the Security Council Syria should be referred to the International Criminal Court over its crackdown on the nine-month uprising.
r00kers said:
Apparently Iraq is on record as opposing any action against Syria including the Arab League sanctions. A spokesman interviewed by the BBC definitely cited a 'Shia v Sunni' element to this. It strikes me as further evidence that the lives of our soldiers and a fair bit of our treasure went to helping strengthen Shia political power. Iraq/Iran/Syria seem to be in alignment on this.
Interesting point. I don't know if I am 100% convinced that you are correct in seeing a Shia led political alignment across Iraq/Iran/Syria (Iraq does also have plenty of Sunnis and Kurds, after all) but it certainly seems plausible.
Syria has agreed to extend the mandate of the Arab League observer mission by a month, Syria's state-run news agency Sana reports.
Syria's decision to agree an extension of the mission follows Damascus' rejection of a fresh Arab League plan for President Bashar al-Assad to step down and hold elections.
The six members of the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) - Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the UAE - had earlier announced the withdrawal of their countries' monitors from the mission.
On 10 January, a Russian cargo ship loaded with containers from the country's main arms exporter made an unscheduled stop at the port of Limassol in Cyprus, apparently forced from the sea by bad weather.
Port officials who boarded the ship discovered what was described as "dangerous cargo".
A well-placed source has confirmed to the BBC that it was carrying tons of ammunition destined for the Syrian security forces...
According to some estimates, 10% of Russia's global arms sales go to Syria, with current contracts estimated to be worth $1.5bn (£950m).
While the Russian government says that continuing to sell weapons to Syria is not in contravention of any arms embargo and is simply the fulfilment of existing contracts, Western and some Arab countries are becoming increasingly angry
Diplomats at the UN Security Council have watered down a resolution on Syria in an apparent attempt to overcome Russian objections to an earlier draft.
The new text drops explicit reference to a call for President Bashar al-Assad to hand over power, a key part of an Arab League plan.
The revised draft - seen by the BBC - also removes a paragraph calling on member states to act to prevent the flow of arms into Syria. This was another clause opposed by Russia...
Russia's deputy foreign minister says his country "cannot support" a draft United Nations Security Council resolution on Syria.
According to the Interfax news agency, Gennady Gatilov said that despite changes that took some of its concerns into account, Russia could not support the text in its current form.
The watered-down UN text drops explicit calls for the president to step aside, which were included in an earlier draft.
However the document still "fully supports" what it calls the league's decision "to facilitate a political transition".
There have been clashes on the outskirts of Bahrain's capital, Manama, as the opposition marked the first anniversary of pro-democracy protests.
Police fired rubber bullets and tear gas at youths in several villages, who hurled back petrol bombs and stones.
Large parts of Manama were also sealed off to prevent people reaching the site of the now-demolished Pearl Roundabout - the focus of last year's unrest.
Canadian_Coat
Brockville, ON
September 2008
DEC 01, 2011 10:25 PM