Russia--did you know?

[sinkov]

Kids are dying in Syria because of chemical warfare being waged against them and Westminster remains silent.

Images like this in 2018 really should not be happening. Should they?

Images like that should not be happening at any time, that they are is to a large extent, the responsibilty of the governments who armed and financed the so-called 'rebels'. As Westminster is one of the most culpable perhaps that's the reason they prefer not make a song and dance about it now. If they're not hanging their heads in shame, they should be.

[1959_60]

I agree with Sinkov and BT on this one.

For the last few years we, along with the USA and a few other nations, have been acting like latter day crusaders in that whole region. We thought we were more powerful and therefore untouchable.
In fact, that region has been in turmoil since the second world war because we never sorted out the Israel/Palestine thing.

Now the situation is a complete mess. People are saying that something must be done...but what? If we do nothing then Assad and the Russians will be even more powerful in the region. If we decide to remove Assad, it will become a proxy war between some very powerful nations...and who would follow Assad into power?

I was hoping that, after Iraq and Afghanistan, that we would leave this region well alone, but , as Sinkov said, we have been arming some very unsavoury factions in various countries in that area.

Ideally the UN would take proper action here, but once again it has proved that it is just a talking shop with practically zero positive effect.

I would disband the whole organisation and replace it with another body which had better terms of reference and not be subject to vetoes from a single state.

We are actually creating many of the problems in the region by acting like the world Police Force.

[The Bedlington Terrier]

It's the arbitrary selectiveness of the interventions that really anger me 1959-60.

The people of Rwanda, Yemen and Syria are examples of human beings being abandoned without hope.

Yet us and the Yanks will spend billions on illegal interventions and breaches of sovereignty and go into Iraq and Afghanistan with total impunity.

Then we cry foul and go ballistic when retaliations are committed in Europe, the UK and US by "terrorists".

[1959_60]

Yep. We are on the same page here BT.

[The Bedlington Terrier]

A Soviet/UK double agent gets poisoned just 10 miles away from the MOD Chemical weapons HQ and we now claim the mixture was flown in from Moscow on a commercial plane.

We are supposed to believe it passed customs and security checks at both ends of it's journey and no-one detected it or died because of it?

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[Balanbam00]

Sinkov, and ....all my friends of course!

''Images like that should not be happening at any time, that they are is to a large extent, the responsibilty of the governments who armed and financed the so-called 'rebels'.''

Let us not forget , Hafez al-Assad's wife, Anisa Makhlouf, was key to this union and helped Bashar's father rise to power. ... mother of the Syrian regime. The Assad-Makhlouf dynasty has ruled Syria 'with an iron fist'. When Hafez al-Assad seized power in a coup in 1970, the party became a ***** tool to instil loyalty, as well as help control the government and military alongside the pervasive security services. The party's senior leaders have remained loyal to the late president's son, Bashar, despite a call from the main opposition coalition, the Syrian National Council (SNC), for them to defect in protest at the violent crackdown on anti-government protests that began in March 2011.
Hafez al-Assad was among a group of Baath supporters in the Syrian army who seized power in 1963. Baathist officials were, however, targeted during an armed insurrection by Sunni Islamist groups in the late 1970s and early 1980s, which culminated in a rebellion in Hama in February 1982 that was brutally crushed, leaving between 10,000 and 25,000 people dead.

Who Are the Alawites in Syria?
Regarding geographical presence, Alawites are a Muslim minority group accounting for a small percentage of Syria’s population. The differences between Alawites and Sunnis in Syria have sharpened dangerously since the beginning of the 2011 uprising against President Bashar al-Assad, whose family is Alawite. The reason for the tension is primarily political rather than religious: Top positions in Assad’s army are held by Alawite officers, while most of the rebels from the Free Syrian Army and other opposition groups come from Syria’s Sunni majority.​

“The Alawite regime” in Syria, with the inevitable implication that this minority group rules over a Sunni majority. But that means brushing over a much more complex society. Alawite families over time cemented their hold on the security apparatus, securing privileged access to state power. This generated resentment among many Sunnis, especially religious fundamentalists who regard Alawites as non-Muslims, but also among the Alawite dissidents critical of the Assad family.

So for me much blame on the Assad family!!

[Balanbam00]

B T: " The people of Rwanda, Yemen and Syria are examples of human beings being abandoned without hope.''

To me it seems to be part of a power struggle in the Middle east between the Sunnis and the Shia ,of Iran. Who is wanting dominance in this part of the world? You should know that in order to dominate the middle east, Iran is encoraging all these small groups '' to resist!!'' The Houthis ,in Yeman ,Hamas in Gaza , Hezbullah in Lebanon. So by supplying weapons and training ,via the Hezbullah in Lebanon,plus weapons by ship from Iran! Not so abandoned,it's in Irans interests!

Houthis belong to the Zaidi branch of Islam, also known as Fivers, a sect of Islam almost exclusively present in Yemen. Zaydis make up about 25 percent of the population, Sunnis make up 75 percent, and there are also tiny minorities of Muslims who are members of other Shia sects.

If the Houthis were to get established in the Yemen,and recieve Long range missiles, they could do a lot of damage in that area ,remember the terrain is mountainous, very difficult to root them out? Plus they could control the Red Sea,that effects Israel ,Jordan and S Arabia. Members of ISIS are already in the Sinai desert ,and are causing trouble to Egypt ,that aligns with Saudi Arabia.

But now the world of Islam is being polarized ,as you know Shia and Sunni. Keep your eyes on Footymad Burnley for best results!!!

[The Bedlington Terrier]

Meanwhile Theresa May cracks on with Project Fear...

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[oldcolner]

A Soviet/UK double agent gets poisoned just 10 miles away from the MOD Chemical weapons HQ and we now claim the mixture was flown in from Moscow on a commercial plane.

We are supposed to believe it passed customs and security checks at both ends of it's journey and no-one detected it or died because of it?

BT have you lost the plot and joined the Russians!! Even Jeremy hasn’t suggested that. Do we have a motive or a track record for killing, has parliament sanctioned killing, Russia has all of these.
These novichok agents would easily meet the less than 100ml criteria and are designed to be undetectable to tests..they are also designed to be made up near the time of use from less toxic precursors.

Time to reboot the brain cell.

[The Bedlington Terrier]

According to reliable news sources there is absolutely no evidence that novichok was used.

According to reliable news sources if the couple had been exposed to a military grade nerve gas they would have died instantly.

According to reliable news sources there is no confirmed update of the couple's current condition.

It all looks to me like the bit on "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" when dead animals were strewn everywhere and the army were walking about in gas masks.

Not sure what the hidden agenda is but mark my words there is one.

Meanwhile at LIDL this morning...

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