

War and peace in Syria

Where are the good guys?


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Alzheimer's disease starts off with a loss of short-term term memory.

And the Economist seems to suffering from Alzheimer's; it seems to have forgotten its series of warmongering articles of a few months ago exhorting military intervention in Syria.

Stavros Saripanidis

I wonder where all those agencies that hire and employ international mercenaries are hiding.

Are they too afraid to offer military contracts for time served fighting in Syria?

Are they capable only to offer military protection to rich environmentalists in Africa?


Sirs, some months you published a cover with Assad's head demanding "hit him hard", claiming that he bears sole responsibility for the horrible gas attacks. It reminded me of your coverage of Gulf War I and II. At the time I was wondering on which intelligence and facts your conclusion was based on to demand swift war....in the meantime many insights including those presented by Seymour Heish emerged that are undermining the credibility of your sources.
The new claim that a war would have prevented the rise of the Islamists is for me also not very credible . Based on events in Afghanistan, Iraq or Libya, Islamists tend not to turn away when the West rages war against a Muslim country... I wish that such an outstanding paper as The Economist would be more humble in their assessments.

No Way,

Best thing Putin ever did is make it difficult for the US to get involved with Syria. Now the USA is ecstatic they did not get involved in Syria and have oodles of reasons to back away further.

The Middle East is responsible for developing, implementing and maintaining a solution. NOT the USA. Like you said, if the Middle Eastern plan is to support the selected 'bad guys' - so be it!


Another article that vindicates those who opposed military intervention.

U.S. FP needs to refocus on diplomacy, instead of seeing every problem as a military problem.

PIIGS can´t fly

Syria is not in Hollywood

Life can be so disappointing! Wouldn´t it be nice if for every bad guy there was also a good guy, and a beautiful maiden, and a happy ending, like in Hollywood movies.
Okay, Assad is a bad guy. But that does not mean that whoever is fighting him must be a good guy. Hitler´s Germany was defeated by Russia more than any other country, which does not prove that Stalin was any better than Hitler.
Recently TE has been arguing for military involvement in Syria, just like some American politicians. You don´t learn from experience: Fools rush in ... and can make a bad situation worse. Remember Iraq?

neillwa . in reply to Abdussamad

Yes. Let him go back to Aleppo and fight with the Jihadists. Perhaps he will be martyred and end up in heaven with all those virgins.

I have been to Damascus and seen a LOT of support for President Assad. I'm sure not all Syrians like him, but he does have many many people who back him.


It's way too late to support the good guys. We should've done something immediately after Assad fired on peaceful protesters. That was our window and we blew it. There are no good options left.
Syria would become another Afghanistan (pre-war) if the Islamists win; Salafists are hardline fundamentalists and they are usually sympathetic to al Qaeda (who are also Salafist) if they're not openly supporting them. After the jihadists are done in Syria they'll move on to toppling the Iraqi government too (they kind of are already starting on that) and they will have been hardened by the Syrian conflict.
This can't be allowed to happen because they will have a safe base of operations to train more jihadists and to carry out attacks on Israel, Lebanon, the U.S., etc.. It will throw the whole region out of whack and would probably warrant military action from the Western powers at some point.
As horrible as it is, we probably need to back Assad at this point. The Free Syrian Army isn't an effective fighting force and there is no one else we should be supporting amongst the rebels. A jihadist government is just not going to be better than a ruthless dictator in terms of the threat posed to the West. They are equally ruthless, perhaps moreso. Those people need to lose this war.
But if Assad wins, he's going to murder the moderate and civilian elements of the resistance too and we don't want that either. So I think part of an agreement would be to allow those people to leave the country (if they want) and go to, I don't know, somewhere. Or divide the country between them (though that might not solve the conflict). These options suck.
The other option is to lean on Turkey and the Saudis to stop supporting Al-Qaeda elements in Syria. Why is that okay again? We should probably do that either way.

The Metaphysician

The UK is a disgrace as a sovereign state. The FCO has been led by the nose by US foreign policy idiots. Assad, like it or not, has been the best bet in Syria since the beginning of this tragic conflict. Why would any country follow the US's appalling ignorance-leadership? It's not as if the West - and I mean the US and its toady states - has made even one seriously good foreign policy decision since 9/11. The worst thing is that it was all foreseeable.

Amid Yousef

Saudi Arabian Bandar and his brother Sleiman are financing the attack on Syria. The SULTAN BROTHERS are a 2 man crime wave across the planet and somehow they avoid arrest and prosecution by BLACKMAIL with Saudi flow of Oil.
BANDAR is the real leader of AlQeda and mastermind behind 9/11 attack.
This makes Saudi Governemnt liable to USA for war reparations...
and now we know he may have been the main support of every major regional war since 1971.
l I urge all to call their Senator (USA) demanding arrest of these 2 international thugs *Call Senate 202-224-3121*!
Saudis have financed EVERY war and conflict since 1971...
Because we (USA) had cut a deal with the DEVIL in 1971 and here is how:
(Source: Thomas L. Friedman's book, Hot Flat & Crowded) Here is my summation, including personal observation:
1- 1971 Nixon lost of confidence of the world so they started pulling out the GOLD from USA.
2- France asked for its GOLD BACK, Nixon refused to give it and gave them PAPER instead.
3- To back the paper he cut a deal with Saudis King Faisal to sell Oil for dollars only, making Oil & dollars = Gold in value. In return USA pledged to protect SAUDI ARABIA. The Deal With The DEVIL!
USA told Saudis, do whatever you want, you will be protected
4- This arrangement was clever and created 2 countries with ability to print unlimited money. This WAS a mistake and a FRAUD on all nations and USA has been paying the price for it because the Monstrous Saudi Kings proved to be an ugly bunch... Real Ugly.
5- 1973, Saudi Kings led the Oil Embargo of 1973 to test America's sincerity. USA was brought down to its knees with long GAS lines.
6- 1979 internal strife bring a young man Named Usama Bin Laden to Grand Mosque where he demand the King steps down. They settle with Usama by promising him UNLIMITED money to go JIHAD so long as hee keeps it OUTSIDE Saudi Arabia.
7- 1982 1st country the Islamic Brotherhood (AlQaeda was just starting) attacked was Syria1st and soon Assad had Hama put down. (The world never let him live down the Hama Experience, but it seems he was suffering a Saudi Arabian Bin Laden just cutting his teeth on TERROR.
8- 1982-1989 after getting chased out of Syria, Afghanistan was next.
Bin Laden was funded by Hit-men of Saudi Arabian Monarchy and went to fight Russia in Afghanistan... Not for the Americans but for the SAUDIS.
9- 1992 Saudi Monarchy had its sight higher and soon Bin Laden's Ahmad Yousef (No Relation - Yousef is like Smith in USA, Jews, Christians and Muslims use that name) Ahmad tried to bring down the World Trade Center.
10- 2001- on 9-11 that day, 15 Saudis committed the worst TERROR attack in history on USA and to date. To make the insult bigger Bandar Bin Kharah(Now Hold important position in that thuggish country) was in the Whitehouse while the planes were on their way to hit the Pentagon…
11- Today (literally today) AlQuaeda Saudi Thugs under direction of Saudi Arabian Monarchy Bandar (Baboon) are shooting Missiles into Unarmed Christian Village called Malula, here LIVE VIDEO: 
معلولا تحرقها نار الارهاب 
********Saudi Arabian Monarchs Are Monsters, who've paid and financed every regional war, Saudi Kings are theTRUE OBSTACLE TO PEACE*****

Connect The Dots

Give free one way tickets to Syria for all Radical Muslim Jihadists and then cut them off.
Syria may prove to be the solution to world terror: Gladiator-Style Guerilla fight-to-the-death.
It is the World's Biggest Graveyard for Jihad.
***By the way, have you noticed Worldwide Terror outside of Islam is dramatically down?
Syria has solved world terror.


The "West" botched this beyond belief. They thought they could topple Assad, the same way they did in Libya. DIFFERENCE, Assad was one of the more pro-west leaders. He is highly intelligent (not a despot). The West and it's cronies turned Syria into the mess it is today and if Assad manages to survive, do you think he will forget what was done to his country?

Fahim Carim

Of course there are no good guys. There never are good guys. Only national interests. Right now for the US the national interest is to aid Israel an ally by keeping Syria in a civil war for 2-3 more years. This will probably cause the deaths of another 100,000 Syrians.

The war is not because Muslims enjoy fighting or Shites and Sunnis just don't get along or any other wild oversimplification that washes everybodies hands. It isn't because Bashar brutally suppressed pro-democracy protestors (nobody there wants western democracy). The wars is in the US and their allies national interest for Syria and it's allies (Iran/Hezbollah) to be occupied with a war.

It is not in the US interest for an outright victory by al-Qaeda. The US perfect solution is a long brutal war 2-5 more yrs with about 250-400k casualties 5mil displaced. Then a coalition gov with a weak "moderate" Hamid Karazai type Sunni leader in about 2 yr. this will neutralize Syria as a threat to Israel for 20 to 30yrs and Iran will lose a vital Arab ally.


Are there good guys in the Arab World?
Of course there are! The terrified millions of secular Arabs who cower under the authoritarianism of Islam or the authoritarianism of the military regimes. Those millions who would have willingly made peace with Israel so that the Middle East might have prospered in secular democratic states. But Islam and the Generals would NEVER prosper under these conditions so they made Israel the devil and the reason for all the Arab woes.
But things have got out of control and the Arab World is imploding from all its lies and viciousness.
Could you imagine if they had the atomic bomb as well?

Slow down cowboy! WE didn't foment these uprisings let alone choose their direction … as if WE controlled everything!

You said: "Muslim's are just as good as us if not better." AND

You said: "Like most countries their citizens are for the most part …"

YOU are either a Muslim apologist or a 'weak-minded' lefty liberal … the jury is still OUT!


No amount of coddling their miscreants will make them anything except what they are … you sound like you're singing the 'Coca-Cola Song' … LOL

You said: "How many more displaced Syrians in refugee camps do you want?"

That's entirely up to the 'thugs' on both sides … the vile genocidal Assad backed by HEZBOLLAH, RUSSIA, AND IRAN or the vile jihadi Islamists backed by QATAR/SAUDI ARABIA/TURKEY … wash your hands after you've picked … the stench will REFUSE TO GO AWAY!

Bluhorizon in reply to guest-wslmojs

Your comment makes me envision the marines storming ashore to Save Syria from itself. Maybe President Obama knew more than the general public at that time and was advised early-on that this was a sectarian war.

It's easy to look back with perfect hindsight and make excellent decisions. Blaming stuff on the president seems to be something with which certain people are obsessed.


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