Posted on 07/06/2012 6:51:19 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
The BBC profile says he had been sidelined for a year:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-18734785
...
He was reportedly under a form of home arrest since May 2011, following his meeting with the opposition to try to start a political dialogue and also because of his opposition to the clampdown.
In Syria now it is the Sunnis vs the minority Alawites.(Assad and company)
The Sunnis will have al Qaeda, Saudi Arabia,and the Muslim Brotherhood on their side.
The Alawites (a Shiite heresy) will have Shiite Iran on their side.
The best thing we can do is stay out of this war because neither warring side is good for us. The longer this Muslim war goes on the better for us. -Tom
What’s up with all this nonsense that Assad’s days are numbered? Unless the West decides to intervene, Assad is ruthless enough to crush the Sunni rebellion.
Along those lines, the US should fast and furiously train its best minds to that task and end. Take someones forté and put it to good use. Somebody like E. Holder comes to mind...
from your keyboard to God's eyes. Full agreement Tom!
Just hoping that while all this crap is going on, Iran doesn’t sneak a nuke into Israel.
“Understand your thoughts EQAndy. Can say this, Iran would be more than stupid to do such (imho).”
Probably, but who will say something or for that matter do something?
The scenario would play out where Iran does something then everyone in the UN tells Israel not to retaliate, or else.
I am more concerned with how this is all going to play out in October. Just a feeling, but I see an October Suprise with this and not a good one.
Hamas is changing sides also, Looks like the Brotherhood is pulling strings:
From Stratfor:
Gaza’s prime minister and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh will travel to Cairo within the next several weeks to meet with Mohammed Morsi, Egypt’s newly elected Islamist president. The announcement, issued Thursday by a senior Palestinian official, comes within days of a meeting between Hamas central leader Khaled Meshaal and King Abdullah II of Jordan. These visits are taking place not long after Hamas was forced to distance itself from longtime patron Syria.
Hamas’ leadership had been headquartered in Damascus since the Hashemite Kingdom expelled the group in 1999. Hamas was part of a radical regional alliance that included Iran, Syria and Lebanese Shiite Islamist movement Hezbollah. This alignment of players successfully enhanced its influence in the region until the outbreak of the 2011 Arab uprising — especially once that uprising spread to Syria. The manner in which the Syrian regime cracked down on the largely Sunni uprising created a major problem for Hamas. As a Sunni Arab entity, Hamas could not remain aligned with an Alawite regime reportedly killing thousands of people while suppressing a largely Sunni rebellion.
At the same time, the standing of Hamas’ fellow Islamists throughout the region has dramatically improved. Islamists made significant gains in elections in North Africa. From Hamas’ point of view, the Muslim Brotherhood’s (MB’s) electoral victories in Egypt have been the most significant. Egypt is the main Arab player in the region; because of the diplomatic relations it has held with Israel since 1978, Cairo has acted as the chief mediator in Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.
It will be critical to watch how Egypt’s first Islamist president connects with Israel. Meanwhile, Hamas will focus its attention on enhancing its influence in Jordan and by extension the West Bank, which is currently under the control of Hamas’ main rival, the secular Fatah movement, whose fortunes have long been dwindling. Perhaps the biggest shift in Hamas’ orientation will be eventually seen in Syria, where the Islamist organization will increasingly throw its support behind the Sunni-led rebellion against its former Alawite patrons in Damascus.
Assad’s toast. Defections signal the end just like with Saddam’s regime and Ghaddafi’s regime. No doubt Assad will be smart enough to use a poison pill or a bullet rather than wait to be executed.
You guys kidding me? You want another Hillery Sharia law government like Tunesia. Libya and Egypt??? Give me a break!! Go Assad ___ GOOOO!!!Kill those people. now!!
I don’t want Sharia government there. I want a Muzzie on Muzzie blood bath. The longer they spend killing each other, the safer Israel is.
As long as they are fighting each other it is a win-win situation for the U.S.
Muslim killing Muslim, no U.S. troops involved, no U.S. money. Let the Russians and/or Chinese decide which side they want to back. Maybe they can waste billions of dollars.
For those who are also interested in activity in Libya, here is a rundown on the messy election that is supposed to take place on this Saturday. I don’t know if the future of Syria will be even messier.
General Manaf Tlas commanded a brigade of the Republican Guard, the elite unit whose loyalty to the regime usually exists without question
Wait, how is israel safer in your scenario? If the opposition win, then israel will be virtually surrounded by sunni muslim extremists who make shiites look like choir boys. The same extremists we have been fighting since 9/11. You seem to have forgotten that with the exception of the skirmishes with sadr in iraq, the majority of the fighting came from the side of the sunnis, who are attacking everyone in iraq, and have basically run the christians out of the country. When I look at the fundamentalist muslim countries and I see Iran and Saudi arabia as a comparison, it is easy to see that Iran is the lesser evil. A country which allows other religions, has the largest church in the middle east, even has a jewish member in parliament; or a country which bans churches, bans jewish people from visiting, arrests you if you have more than one bible. There is a clear lesser evil here, and obamas arab spring has caused sunni extremists to take power in every country, for the balance of power to stay even remotely close to the middle syria needs to stay in alawite power. If it doesnt, then iran is practically alone and the entire muslim world will be run by extremists. You really think an israel surrounded by the muslim brotherhood is safer, than an israel neighboured by a strongman who clamps down on religious extremism?
In any case, if you truly want a sunni-shiite war, you would actually want the shiite side to be a little more powerful, since theyre only like iraq syria and iran now, vs the rest of the sunnis. Would make a more protracted war to keep syria on the side of the shiites.
Didn’t say I wanted a Sunni country there. Said Israel would be safer if the muzzies hacked each other to death there. I don’t care if it lasts 20 years.
Keep us out of it.If Iraq, Bosnia, Lebanon and Afghanistan has taught us anything, it taught us that the Muzzies hate us and do not deserve our help.
He’ll eventually be teaching at Stanford.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.