• 'Bodies in the streets' as Syrian tanks storm Daraa
    46 replies, posted
[img]http://www.dw-world.de/image/0,,6511190_1,00.jpg[/img] [quote] [b]Thousands of Syrian troops backed by tanks entered the southern city of Daraa early Monday, [u]firing indiscriminately and leaving bodies lying in the streets[/u], activists said.[/b] The army entered the town overnight in an apparent crackdown against the ongoing anti-government protests which began a month ago. International and Arab journalists are banned from reporting in Syria, so there was no way to obtain independent confirmation of the figures. Phone lines and electricity were also cut off in the area, although some mobile lines were working. [b]"I can tell you 3,000 troops entered the city and they are currently raiding homes in Daraa," a Syrian taxi driver who lives in Daraa told the German news agency dpa.[/b] [b]"There are many casualties and ambulances are unable to move due to the heavy shooting," he said.[/b] [b]A witness told the Reuters news agency he saw bodies in the street after hundreds of soldiers in armored vehicles poured into Daraa.[/b] Widespread condemnation Meanwhile, Syrian writers issued a joint declaration on Monday, denouncing the crackdown. The declaration was signed by 102 Syrian writers and journalists, some of whom are living in exile. It called on Syrian intellectuals "to make a clear stance and condemn the violent, oppressive practices of the Syrian regime against the protesters." [b]Human rights groups said security forces have killed at least [u]350 people[/u] since the unrest began last month, a third of them in the past three days alone.[/b] Human Rights Watch called on the United Nations to set up an international inquiry into the fatal shootings by Syria's security forces and impose sanctions on officials who bear responsibility for the use of lethal force. "Faced with the Syrian authorities' shoot-to-kill strategy, the international community needs to impose sanctions on those ordering the shooting of protesters," said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. Borders closed Following the deployment of army tanks in Daraa, Syria closed all its land border crossings with neighboring Jordan. The Jordanian information minister confirmed that Syria was preventing people from leaving the country. "Syria closed its land borders with Jordan," Taher Adwan said. "The Syrian decision is related to the internal situation in Syria," Adwan told the state-run Petra news agency. "We hope movement at the border goes back to normal soon." The aim of the border closure may be to prevent demonstrators and activists from fleeing to Jordan. The latest crackdown comes despite President Bashar al-Assad signing on Thursday decrees ending a draconian state of emergency, imposed by the Baath Party when it seized power in 1963.[/quote] [url]http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,15028341,00.html[/url] The apple doesn't fall far from the tree: [QUOTE=Wikipedia]The Hama massacre (Arabic: مجزرة حماة‎) occurred in February 1982, when the Syrian army, under the orders of the president of Syria Hafez al-Assad [[b]current Syrian president's father- captainHOE[/b]], conducted a scorched earth policy against the town of Hama in order to quell a revolt by the Sunni Muslim community against the regime of al-Assad.[1] The Hama massacre, personally conducted by president Assad's younger brother, Rifaat al-Assad, effectively ended the campaign begun in 1976 by Sunni Islamic groups, including the Muslim Brotherhood, against Assad's regime, whose leaders were disproportionately from president Assad's own Alawite sect. [b]Estimates vary on the number of deaths, with the lowest estimates indicating that at least 10,000 Syrian citizens were killed,[2] the majority civilians, while others put the number at 20,000 (Robert Fisk),[1] or 40,000 (Syrian Human Rights Committee).[3][4][/b][/quote]
Time for an intervention?
Time for NATO to get the fuck over there as well
Jesus christ, all these middle eastern countries fucking suck ass.
I say let these countries sort their own shit out.
But nothing will be done.
[QUOTE=Miskatonic;29420091]I say let these countries sort their own shit out.[/QUOTE] Would you say that if it was your own government gunning down your friends and family just because they want more freedom as a people? Perhaps your not showing much compassion as to you this is just some more text on the internet, it is hard to visualize what is really going on, but you can trust me on this when I say it is a disgusting crime to have unarmed civilians, even hospital workers, being shot at and killed for such simple reasons as helping one another or wanting freedom from a government regime that seeks to control and oppress them in such violent and inhuman manners. We have a duty as human beings to help one another, not to just brush problems like this under the carpet like its not our problem, it might be a few thousand miles away but the least we can do is show some form of support for these people, show they are not alone in their struggle.
[QUOTE=ThePunisher1;29420228]Would you say that if it was your own government gunning down your friends and family just because they want more freedom as a people? Perhaps your not showing much compassion as to you this is just some more text on the internet, it is hard to visualize what is really going on, but you can trust me on this when I say it is a disgusting crime to have unarmed civilians, even hospital workers, being shot at and killed for such simple reasons as helping one another or wanting freedom from a government regime that seeks to control and oppress them in such violent and inhuman manners. We have a duty as human beings to help one another, not to just brush problems like this under the carpet like its not our problem, it might be a few thousand miles away but the least we can do is show some form of support for these people, show they are not alone in their struggle.[/QUOTE] :words: Obligatory what-if statement.
[QUOTE=Miskatonic;29420307]:words: Obligatory what-if statement.[/QUOTE] The French and Spanish were assholes for intervening in the American Revolution.
I really do think that this entire situation needs intervention. It's been out of hand for a while.
I think NATO invading Syria might not be a great idea. NATO will win in no time, but is NATO ready to handle another insurgency filled country? Iran, by the way, also aids the Syrian regime against the protesters - and if Syria will get invaded by NATO Iran might act, which will result in a terrible bloodbath for everyone involved. Syria isn't the same like Libya. Syria has powerful allies, and the Syrian army still is loyal to the regime. Besides, if NATO intervenes, the regime will surely use this as propaganda - and when the Americans/Western nations are involved, this propaganda might really work.
NATO won't intervene. They've already got their hands full with Libya - they don't need another, much stronger enemy.
Syria is weak actually
[QUOTE=BCell;29421346]Syria is weak actually[/QUOTE] Syria's army is not the problem in an invasion, but the consequences of such invasion are...
[QUOTE=captainHOE;29422620]Syria's army is not the problem in an invasion, but the consequences of such invasion are...[/QUOTE] I don't think a full scale invasion, like what we saw with Iraq, is whats needed. a No-fly-zone style air supremacy would work just as well. Drone strikes and strategic bombing would work just as well.
[QUOTE=BCell;29421346]Syria is weak actually[/QUOTE] much stronger than libya however, because they are near israel and need to be prepared
The face in the picture creeped the shit out of me when I opened the thread. I wish this will get settled as well is it can. I am afraid it won't.
[QUOTE=Dr_Funk;29420162]But nothing will be done.[/QUOTE] Just like what people said about Libya, in a few days we had the Libyan air force completely grounded and we smashed a huge chunk of their armour into ash and dust. If we have to intervene in a big way then we can, and it's likely we will if they ask for help. [editline]25th April 2011[/editline] [QUOTE=Miskatonic;29420307]:words: Obligatory what-if statement.[/QUOTE] You should be sterilised so you're apathy can't infect the rest of your bloodline.
Also noteworthy is that the Syrian army is alot larger and more powerful than Libya's armed forces, they have a sizeable ballistic missile fleet too.
[QUOTE=BCell;29421346]Syria is weak actually[/QUOTE] Didn't Syria beat back the Israelis when they tried to take over the middle east decades ago? [editline]25th April 2011[/editline] [QUOTE=CertainDOOM;29423035]Also noteworthy is that the Syrian army is alot larger and more powerful than Libya's armed forces, they have a sizeable ballistic missile fleet too.[/QUOTE] We are kind of assuming that this will erupt into civil war, which it may not do.
[QUOTE=CertainDOOM;29423035]Also noteworthy is that the Syrian army is alot larger and more powerful than Libya's armed forces, they have a sizeable ballistic missile fleet too.[/QUOTE] Find and destroy the launchers, then all they have is a big strong army and an expensive pile of metal rocks that require a lot of maintenance.
[QUOTE=The golden;29423151]Big surprise. People don't like being treated like shit and want to fight back. What I don't understand is what these "leaders" think will be left for them after they've slaughtered most of their citizens. You can't run a country with just your huge ass military.[/QUOTE] I think they hope that by slaughtering a load of them, the rest will think twice about trying to fight back [editline]25th April 2011[/editline] [QUOTE=bravehat;29423194]Find and destroy the launchers, then all they have is a big strong army and an expensive pile of metal rocks that require a lot of maintenance.[/QUOTE] I don't think there is any doubt in the fact that most western countries could beat them, I think it's more the fact that it would take a lot more to do so.
stay classy assad these dictators never learn
[quote]Didn't Syria beat back the Israelis when they tried to take over the middle east decades ago?[/quote] No? Syria always lost to Israel. And uh... when did the Israelis try to take over the middle east?
[QUOTE=captainHOE;29423496]No? Syria always lost to Israel. And uh... when did the Israelis try to take over the middle east?[/QUOTE] I think it might have been the war of attrition in 1967
[QUOTE=carcarcargo;29423544]I think it might have been the war of attrition in 1967[/QUOTE] Nope. The Syrians never defeated Israel or made it retreat anywhere, actually - no country did. Theoretically - Israel could've occupied entire Syria and Egypt in both the 6 Day War of 1967 and the Yom Kippur war of 1973. It was international pressure, especially American, which made the Israelis stop and not continue taking more and more territory. The War of Attrition was the Syrians and Egyptians pissing the Israelis off basically. It was from 1967 to 1970 - and basically, Egypt and Syria (Egypt was the dominant force among the two) launched rockets and mortars into Israeli territory and committed other small-scale action in order to piss them off and make them 'desperate'. Basically, physiological war. Nothing was gained by the Syrians and Egyptians though.
[QUOTE=CabooseRvB;29420384]The French and Spanish were assholes for intervening in the American Revolution.[/QUOTE] I only say that because I'm inclined to believe that the only reason why the US is helping Libya is because there's an incentive to do so. I'm willing to bet top dollar that there will be multibillion dollar contracts given to corporations to rebuild the damage. I'd rather have the people achieve their own freedom than be fucked over after everything blows over. It's happened before and it'll happen again. [editline]25th April 2011[/editline] I'm cynical.
[QUOTE=captainHOE;29420985] Syria isn't the same like Libya. Syria has powerful allies, and the Syrian army still is loyal to the regime. Besides, if NATO intervenes, the regime will surely use this as propaganda - and when the Americans/Western nations are involved, this propaganda might really work.[/QUOTE] The American infidels are trying to stop us from killing you! They are DEVILS! Would they listen to propaganda by the same regime that killed their family and friends?
[QUOTE=torero;29423847]The American infidels are trying to stop us from killing you! They are DEVILS! Would they listen to propaganda by the same regime that killed their family and friends?[/QUOTE] When the country gets invaded, perhaps...
[QUOTE=captainHOE;29423616]Nope. The Syrians never defeated Israel or made it retreat anywhere, actually - no country did. Theoretically - Israel could've occupied entire Syria and Egypt in both the 6 Day War of 1967 and the Yom Kippur war of 1973. It was international pressure, especially American, which made the Israelis stop and not continue taking more and more territory.[/quote] Actually the Egyptians recaptured sinai from the Israelis so there were some gains from these wars, also in the beginning of the yom kippur war the Egyptians and Syrians were making rather excellent progress, the Israelis were retreating but if it wasn't for operation nickel grass that gave them weaponry to counter the equipment the arab armies had, the Syrians and Egyptians would have won the war, also the land gains the Israelis made in that war was a counter attack after being resupplied.
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