that Syrian Civil War is NO JOKE VOL. over 1300 dead after alleged Nerve gas attack

[an dee 51o]

Baffles me that to this day there's a large amount of Americans/NTers who don't recognize the greatness of our own country. The fact I can wake up n go to bed without worrying about nothing more then my fantasy line up.

Greatness does not equal military power. The only real reason for this is because we have the best and most technologically advanced military on the planet. I love America, but the reason a lot of people don't like us is because we are bullies that usually intercede when it is advantageous for us.

 

[kingkoopa]

Greatness does not equal military power. The only real reason for this is because we have the best and most technologically advanced military on the planet. I love America, but the reason a lot of people don't like us is because we are bullies that usually intercede when it is advantageous for us.

Being a bully>>>>>>>>>>> being bullied

 

[an dee 51o]

Greatness does not equal military power. The only real reason for this is because we have the best and most technologically advanced military on the planet. I love America, but the reason a lot of people don't like us is because we are bullies that usually intercede when it is advantageous for us.

Being a bully>>>>>>>>>>> being bullied

There is a middle ground.

 

[createdestroy]

"The US will not intervene in the Syria conflict because it does not believe anti-Assad rebels would support American interests, its highest ranking military officer wrote in a letter to a congressman."

if this isn't a prime example of modern day american imperialism, idk what is.


the middle east region is no joke.

a prime example of modern imperialism = not intervening in a foreign conflict ?!?!?!

 

[Fozz]

Just seeing the dozens of photos of the dead children was so sad. 

 

[finnns2003]

Just seeing the dozens of photos of the dead children was so sad. 

Yeah that messed me up. Kids are losing their lives over #@^@^@.

 

[elcatfisho]

i've been following this for a long time... posted a thread earlier this summer about how I think the US is about to go in at some point in the next year.... sounds bad from the reports and it looks bad from the videos.

No one in the DoD has a clue of what to do there.

 

[sofa king awsm]

smh that is very unfortunate. those syrian war vids on kaotic are pretty gruesome. didnt think it was possible but the mexican cartel vids are slightly more hardcore. total chaos in syria -_-. RIP to the fallen.

 

[bandit country]

a prime example of modern imperialism = not intervening in a foreign conflict ?!?!?!

These guys aren't even trying anymore.

Damn those US Imperialists for not overthrowing a sitting regime!!!

Overthrowing Saddam worked out so well for the Iraqi people, it's a wonder we don't do it more often.

 

[elpablo21]

man the video with the kids all lying in the corner

 

[DrizzyNYC]

this....
Libya was one of the most stable african countries and didn't have a central controlled bank.... we brought them "democracy" now they are ruled by rebels and the country is in chaos....

 

[melo0115]

Mass death..

 

[me love nutella]

So sad what is happening. But the U.S. can't intervene militarily for many reasons. It is not in their interest. Their military is overstretched and this will deinitely have many repercussions and cost them. They can't risk it. So then they have to fight Syria's Assad, Hezbollah and Iran? No way they can get through it without losing a lot out of it. The rebels are not pro American, neither is the regime. So which sect do you support? They'd rather want the devil they know rather than the devil they don't know.

 

[I Am Si Guy]

http://www.vice.com/ground-zero/syria-full-lengthThere's like 8 parts. Shhhh is REAL over thereEdit: vids are VERY graphic

Wow. Just wow.

That video truly hurt to watch.

I was born in Lebanon and my family and I had to endure stuff like this in the 80's during countris own civil war.

This really hit home.

 

[timbo109]

Baffles me that to this day there's a large amount of Americans/NTers who don't recognize the greatness of our own country. The fact I can wake up n go to bed without worrying about nothing more then my fantasy line up.

This. Thanks for posting this.

 

[jthagreat]

seen the news talkin about this yesterday...i thought this stuff was banned like worldwide (makes no difference i know) but like we have nuclear weapons but we stopp others from having them. I thought this is one of those weapons that were rided of by all.


Crazy. I wish the US would stay out of other countries issues, but atrocities like this cant happen...UN maybe?

 

[kingkoopa]

There is a middle ground.

Too late for that. There's no way we can convert into some European country just along for the ride. We've been bullies for centuries, and can't just sit back now. We'd be sitting ducks. We have to flex from here on out.

 

[tomdiginson]

this....
Libya was one of the most stable african countries and didn't have a central controlled bank.... we brought them "democracy" now they are ruled by rebels and the country is in chaos....

 

[miamiboy]

We cant jump into EVERY war on the planet.

 

[jrdnsrnss]

Problem is i don't think their is any solid evidence that Assad's forces are the ones using the chemical weapons or the rebels using them. They are both pointing the finger at each other and with no concrete info on who is the one using them you can't just roll in and start a war. The rebels are at a disadvantage so going the chemical route could help them out since they are the underdogs so to speak. Assad could use them as well simply cause the guy has been attacking his own people over the past year so who knows.

 

[rell826]

The UN is a toothless organization.

 

[teamjordan79]

Problem is i don't think their is any solid evidence that Assad's forces are the ones using the chemical weapons or the rebels using them. They are both pointing the finger at each other and with no concrete info on who is the one using them you can't just roll in and start a war. The rebels are at a disadvantage so going the chemical route could help them out since they are the underdogs so to speak. Assad could use them as well simply cause the guy has been attacking his own people over the past year so who knows.

We won't get the real facts but the free syrian army did the attack if i had to guess. They have the most to gain from this (western intervention a-la Lybia) plus they were boasting before on camera killing rabbits with chemical agents (peta, where u at?). Assad only digs his own grave by doing this so there's little chance that he would give the go ahead to do such a thing even if he's desperate, which he's clearly not at this point after gaining the upper hand in the conflict and consolidating control in some strategic regions. If anyone has an opposing opinion i would like to hear it.

 

[rexanglorum]

"The US will not intervene in the Syria conflict because it does not believe anti-Assad rebels would support American interests, its highest ranking military officer wrote in a letter to a congressman."

if this isn't a prime example of modern day american imperialism, idk what is.


the middle east region is no joke.

I would not consider this particular decision to be an example of American Imperialism. We are an imperialistic Country and we have squashed the freedoms and hopes and dreams of millions of ordinary people in order to make, ostensibly bring forth "stability," to "project global leadership" and to create a world that is safe for democracy. In truth, we have expended treasure and lives to make the the mega bonuses safe for the Harvard and Wharton grads who sit at the nexus of finance and foreign policy.

Our approach to Syria during these last two years has been callous and it has been an example of placing Realpolitik ahead of idealism. It is not imperialism though. The fact is that war is expensive, even the United States, with the World's largest GDP, put a strain on its budget due to the invasion and occupation of just two Medium sized countries in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Whether out of desire for hegemony, genuine humanitarian reasons or both, policing every single humanitarian problem with a full scale military invasion and decade or so long occupation would be prohibitively expensive. Our wars are especially costly because our allies do not spend much of their own money on a their armed forces so while the French and Japanese are now talking tough, we still have to use very expensive aircraft, air craft carriers, communication appurtenances and we usually have to cover most of their transportation and logistical support. Even when a conflict does not involve American troops, someone we end up having to pay or our allies' new found adventurism. We also have a lot of our defense budget being sunk into military-industrial fat. Too many firms, with too many lobbyists have too much of vested interest in seeing endless occupations, bases in Germany and Japan and too many RD projects that had no chance of ever being worthwhile.

Our ability to project power abroad is being weighted down by unimaginative foreign policy, neocons who like open ended occupations and nation building, belligerent but stingy allies and a public that is justifiable uninterested in foreign policy. Who can blame the average American for not caring much Syria or Egypt or Afghanistan. This country has high and enduring unemployment, high levels of household debt, an ever yawning income gap, no job security and the rising tide of militarized police and vindictive, pan optic federal government is much more menacing than Afghan or Syrian rebels or Egyptian and Libyan protestors.

Given the current back drop of no meaningful existential threats from abroad, a myriad of domestic threats to life and liberty and the belief that foreign policy and diplomacy is now largely a parlor game played by powerful senators and rich military contractors (with the paying being done by ordinary Americans' taxes and the dying done largely by middle and working class soldiers), it is understandable why Isolationism is so appealing. If foreign policy is every to be pursued in line with our values and if we are to be genuine global force for good, we have to make some serious changes politically.

First and foremost, we need either vibrant economy or at least more cooperation between social classes and various professions, more empathy from our elites towards everybody else is crucial. We cannot have a coherent foreign policy when there is no longer a sense of "we" when we speak about Americans.

We need major military reforms. We must always have the most powerful military on Earth. The lack of conventional threats is largely due to us having a dozen carrier groups while other countries, other powers even, have maybe one. Our all volunteer army is the most professional, most disciplines, most educated, most expeditionary and most formidable in all of history. What needs to change is the way that contractors view war. They see it as a piggy bank, where no-bid contracts let them short change tax payers and the troops in the field. We also have too much redundancy in in terms of overseas bases in friendly countries. Most importantly, Japan and other NATO countries must increase their own military budgets or else the US, should deny them help with their overseas operations.

With those reforms in place, we would need an erudite, articulate president who could formulate a doctrine that is broad and predictable on a strategic level yet allows flexibility and a degree of unpredictable in order to accommodate allies and to confuse enemies, respectively. After that is done, the most important steep is to convince a cynical, distru****l and war weary country that foreign policy is being crafted with the interest of the general American public in mind. The interest of the ordinary American do indeed hinge upon stable global environment in the short run and the expansion of classical liberal values in the long run.

We implement our new doctrine by making it clear that preventing genocide is important. If a short war must be fought in order to support rebels, who have generally liberal values, we support them. We should help to prevent genocides such as those that happened in Rwanda and that are happening now in parts of East Africa. We cannot be Angels everywhere and all of the time but if you are brave enough to rebel against your tyrannical government and the majority of those rebel forces are not anti-American, they should be helped.

What we cannot do is attempt to nation build, it is too expensive and it is doomed to failure if the nation's political culture is illiberal to its core. It also shows us, here in the American general public, that most of our political leaders know that trying to make a place like Afghanistan into a liberal state is impossible and that the occupation of Afghanistan in particular and the War on Terror, in the general, is now just one big undertaking by the powerful and well connected to make even more money to the acquire even more power.

We are in dire need of major, holistic military and foreign police reforms because without them we will just hemorrhage away our fellow Americans, who are fighting overseas; we lose money and we lose our freedom, the weapons and tactics and protocols that were initially used to stop Islamofascists are slowly being trained on Americans and in a sad and sick way, it is poetic justice for public that passively accepted torture, drone strikes and aggressive spying upon entire countries and peoples.

 

[wr]

^Another great post Rex.

I agree. The American public is exhausted and really doesn't have the mental space for another war.

I do feel as if there will be unilateral action taken now.

I heard there was a sniper attack on a UN inspectors yesterday.

For the NTer's who are experienced in diplomacy, does this mean there is feasible reason to take action?

I know there were predictions from the French that by the end of this week some action will be taken.

Does this push the time table forward?

 

[menacin methods]

Just seeing the dozens of photos of the dead children was so sad.