George, what’s “amazing” about a link that shows a picture of a child being hung? It’s horrendous! I question your motives and choice of words in what is a grisly and sickening act.

Declan, do you ever have anything constructive to add to a thread or do you just come on here to attempt to deride others and shout USA USA USA?

I’m sure you know that he meant amazing as in astonished and not amazing as in ‘cool!’ or ‘brilliant’. But as usual you’d rather try to take people down with ad-hominem attacks rather than address the points being discussed.

Barry, where do you see me saying “USA, USA, USA”? I’m not making any claims to know exactly whats going on here. But you are a one man show here trolling the Internet to suit your own distorted view of what’s going on in Syria.

Btw “amazing” is the wrong word to use here but yes you are correct about me deriding you and others on Syria. Just remember that you are coming across as a Assad regime apologist!

“Amazing” dictionary meaning- causing great surprise or sudden wonder.

Declan, I said the “USA USA USA” remark figuratively and not literally, but I’m sure you knew that as well. The reason being that you appear as a USA apologist far more than I appear as an Assad apologist. I do not defend Assad, just as I do not defend the USA/NATO/ and middle eastern allies interfering in Syria. I worry about the innocent Syrian people because even though Assad is a somewhat brutal dictator, he keeps the peace there and prevents it from becoming another lawless wasteland like Iraq. The Middle East needs more than US marines stationed there for a few years before they can overcome the tribal and cultural limitations that prevent individual freedom. Do not be fooled and think that Assad will be ousted and then Syria will become a land of love filled with flowers and rainbows. There will be genocide, ethnic cleansing, famine, and much more war.

Now, to dissect your claim that “you are a one man show here trolling the Internet to suit your own distorted view of what’s going on in Syria.”. First off, you need to look up the definition of trolling. Here, I’ve done the donkey work for you: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troll_(Internet) – a troll is someone who posts inflammatory, extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community, such as an online discussion forum, chat room, or blog, with the primary intent of provoking readers into an emotional response or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion.

I don’t post here to derail threads or provoke people to post emotional responses. However I get the impression that you do. So it would seem that it is you that is the troll. I’m not a one man show – judging from the comments of many other readers, and the frequency of green/red thumbs, it would appear that the divide here on the Journal is somewhere around 50/50 if not more (but definitely up a lot from when the Journal started reporting on Syria). And it’s not “my” distorted view. I argue against the distorted views presented as journalism by the Journal through syndication from AP/AFP. Do a bit of googling and you’ll see what is actually going on in Syria is quite different to what is presented here. When I post something as fact I am willing to back it up with sources (many times I will present the sources with the comment). I don’t trust third-hand sources such as the AP/AFP who don’t quote their primary sources (no, the Syrian Observatory of Human Rights is not a primary source). I find sources who are on the ground in Syria, primarily Damascus and Aleppo. You on the other hand, come on to defend the USA/NATO but provide not a hoot of factual comment, just making a fool of yourself by trying to knock other posters.

““Amazing” dictionary meaning- causing great surprise or sudden wonder.”

as·ton·ish·ing   [uh-ston-i-shing]
adjective
causing astonishment or surprise; amazing: an astonishing victory; an astonishing remark.

So, what’s your point? You’re confirming what I said to you. The word amazing was said in the context of astonishing.

Where do I begin with your response Barry? You say that Assad is a “somewhat brutal dictator who keeps the peace”? He’s been in power since 2000 and his father came into power decades before that. How long more should the people put up with the Assad family? You mention USA/NATO but neglect to mention turkey, Saudi Arabia, Iran and any other players in the region. Tehran today comes out today with support for Syria as part of a axis? You are far from impartial and I’m not buying what you say.

Declan, the Ba’athists keep the peace by eradicating tribal divisions and treating minorities and all religions equally. If the Assad Ba’athists were not in power in Syria it would become like Iraq. If you don’t believe me, fine, but try to educate yourself on Middle Eastern politics and history rather than having a knee-jerk reaction to something the media says you should. You say how long should the Syrians put up with the Assads? Well, many Syrians are happy with the Assads because if the Sunni fundamentalists get power the minorities and non-Muslims will be slaughtered and ethnically cleansed.

If you re-read what I said you’ll see I said “USA/NATO/ and middle eastern allies interfering in Syria”. Obviously the “middle eastern allies” means Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar. And I don’t see why you are surprised by Iran supporting Assad, after all, Syria and Iran are allies. The US and middle eastern allies are allied with Al-Qaida… The same Sunni militants causing so much havoc in Iraq.

The Syria situation is just a smokescreen. The US/NATO don’t care about the outcome there as long as Syria are distracted for their war on Iran.

All interesting points Barry, but have to pull you up on one thing:
“The middle east allies and the US are allied to Al Qaeda”.
All the indications are that Al Qaeda and other jihadists are working independently from both the US and the middle east allies, and the FSA have recognised them as a significant threat to Syria in any possible post-Assad era.

It is likely that many jihadists have simply crossed over the porous border with Iraq and brought their own weaponry with them.

Declan is a troll. He has almost nothing to say on any topic (apart from occasionally inarticulately excusing US imperialism) and always plays the man.

Mattoid, I’ve seen some reports of the islamists being armed and trained by US and allies but I guess as their not primary sources you could very well be correct. However when taking into account that the US armed and trained the Mujahideen to fight the Soviets and armed Saddam to fight the Iranians, in that context it seems likely that the reports are true. Also take into account that Saudi Arabia and Qatar are Sunni states they could well support a Sunni theocracy in Syria to counteract the Shia Iran and Shia Hezbollah. A Sunni state would also be of benefit to Turkey as a Sunni Syria would fight the Kurds therefore distracting them from further attacks on Turkey. While Syria is in chaos they would no longer be a vector for Iranian retaliation on Israel in the coming war. In this context the reports of the Islamists being armed and trained makes sense.

Must be true – read it on a blog citing RT and Fars as sources…..

Brings back memories of Colin Powell showing the UN satellite images of Saddams Chemical Weapons. LOL. Don’t make me laugh. Your in brainwashed denial. Automatically discounting anything that doesn’t sit comfortably into your closed mind.? Don’t blame you. Its a natural reaction when people start discovering their being played for fools. Assad has been the bad guy for how long. He was even helping the US with their torture rendition flights. Now’s he’s the new Saddam. Don’t be a mug.

Ed, did it ever occur to you that maybe, just maybe, the Assad regime and its allies are also as effective at using propaganda as the western media outlets you are so quick to condemn??

Fair enough then George. I’m close to a 4 year old child and it pains me to see a picture like that.

Once the Assad fanboys get here, that comment will start to look intelligent.

Nothing wrong with giving a disobedient dog a kick up the arse! I’d kick you up the arse for your lack of a sense of humour and ability to spot sarcasm!