Tidgy

So syria is kicking off and they are still tyring a 'diplomatic' solution. not stopped anythign has it

Hanley

Is there oil in Syria?


No.

Martin2005

What has that got to do with anything?

Simon C

Russia have bases in Syria, so we can't send forces in unless they agree or its WW3

f1_fan

iTrader: (9)

Actually on this subject where is Cameron? He was very quick to get into Lybia to 'protect the civilians' so why is he not doing the same for Syria???

Ah yes ... answered above I think!

Gear Head

iTrader: (2)

No oil. Plus we are out of cash, so it would be political suicide to get involved.

Why we have to save every bloody middle eastern country is beyond me. Would they do it for us? Would they ****!

f1_fan

iTrader: (9)

I presume you mean 'save' in the widest definition of the term

Martin2005

The UN is a completely useless organisation.

Remove the 'permanent 5' members veto's, then we might actually see some progress

The Zohan

Where are the Arab League of Nations and just what are they doing???

subaruturbo_18

Save, or convert to our way of thinking...

They try and do that all of the time, but just go about it a different way!

FlightMan

This.

David Lock

The UN are doing the best they can in the circumstances.

WTF do you want them to do?

Invading will just bring an early start to the inevitable civil war.

dl

Martin2005

Best bet right now would be to try and create some 'safe havens' for the civilian population.

fivetide

iTrader: (1)

When Russia and China say "don't get involved" it's probably best not to get involved no matter how stupid it all is.

I suspect if and when a civil war kicks off that will change and we might well see air support similar to that in Libya.

In essence, it needs to get worse before it gets better.

5t.

STEVEBOXER

Funny how we turn a blind eye to mass murder when the country involved has no oil, damn disgrace!!!

Gear Head

iTrader: (2)

Agreed, but it's the way of the world.

Martin2005

We didn't turn a blind eye in Kosovo, Sierra Leone or Afghanistan. So the whole 'oil' thing is just appears to be a conspiracy theorists wet dream to me.

Midlife......

iTrader: (2)

I thought Syrian air defences were a shed load better than the Lybians.....not sure putting planes in would be a good idea without a lot of work......

Shaun

bigsinky

just get Team America - World Police in to sort things out

mrmadcap

This is a sectarian issue, probably nothing to do with the Syrian government, all tribes and factions, best stay well out of it.
Blaming the Syrian government is a bit like claiming the British government were to blame for all the deaths in Northern Ireland during the troubles.

David Lock

Conveniently forgetting Rwanda, Zimbabwe and most of the horrors of East & Central Africa. dl

JTaylor

http://m.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/j...d&type=article

David Lock

Thanks for that. I admit to not knowing that it had got to resolution stage. And isn't Mugabe now up for a UN envoy or something

dl

The Dogs B******s

Be Jesus,,,,,,,,,I agree with you

Leslie

I did question why the UN was doing nothing significant to stop the murder of civilians by the military forces.

I was accused of advocationg illegal regime change.

Seems to me that if someone is responsible for sending in military forces in order to kill the opposition in the country, it is hardly illegal for the UN to pass a resolution to make it legal to stop the slaughter and to set up a multinational force to take the necessary action.

Les

David Lock

It would be illegal if Russia and/or China refused to agree on this action.

And Russia are right to say it would be a bloodbath if the West went in.

dl

Leslie

Yes you are right of course, it would take a big effort to shame them into withdrawing their veto of course.

What do you reckon about the situation then? How do you feel about standing by and watching all that murdering going on?

Should we just back off completely and allow the present bloodbath to continue?

Les

Martin2005

I didn't 'conveniently forget' anything, I was pointing out examples that were contray to the oil myth.

Our failure to act in Rwanda shames us all!

David Lock

I abhor the situation as much as you and everyone else does. But to invade would just make it worse; tens of thousands massacred, not just a few thousand. Say we paid someone to shoot or blow up Assad - who will take over? That would start an unholy war between opposition groups.

No we don't back off. We do our best to get aid and medical help in and try and provide safe areas for the beleaguered citizens. And we put pressure on Russia to ease it's support.

Do we even know if the silent majority want Western help? Look at the irony of Egypt where a lot of the people are likely to vote for a return of the old guard and the "revolutionaries" are getting very little out of it.

dl

lazadude

iTrader: (1)

Glass the whole area and start again... Or leave them to their own devices.

Only two ways to go imo.