Posted on 06/29/2018 10:34:09 AM PDT by MinorityRepublican
A NEW Syria is emerging from the rubble of war. In Homs, which Syrians once dubbed the “capital of the revolution” against President Bashar al-Assad, the Muslim quarter and commercial district still lie in ruins, but the Christian quarter is reviving.
Churches have been lavishly restored; a large crucifix hangs over the main street. “Groom of Heaven”, proclaims a billboard featuring a photo of a Christian soldier killed in the seven-year conflict. In their sermons, Orthodox patriarchs praise Mr Assad for saving one of the world’s oldest Christian communities.
(Excerpt) Read more at economist.com ...
It sure doesn’t look like they are doing well
Proving once again that the only form of government that works in the Arab Muslim world is, for all its faults, secular dictatorship.
Since Obama isn’t there to jerk the rug out anymore, there might just come a modicum of stability in the region.
Maybe not but I guess time will tell. In that region “doing well” can be pretty relative.
Wonderful article. I am glad that Syria/Russia//Iran slaughtered those isis Sunni , Saudi sponsored wahhabis. Great job. We need to get our 2000 Trioops in Syria the hell out since we weren’t invited and stop air strikes on the sovereign government there that has done nothing detrimental to this nation.
Sadly, he’s much better than Obama, McCain and the Saudi’s jihadi friends
The last thing that Assad wants is a Caliphate; that was the goal of the ISIS rebels. Assad is a secularist Baathist and a member of the minority Alawite religion.
Muammar Gaddafi warned Europe that should he fall, Libya would be used as a staging ground to flood Europe with sub-Saharan "migrants" invaders. This was not a threat but a warning. Gaddafi kept a lid of law and order on Libya.
Now Libya has little in the way of a functioning government. The flood of sub-Saharan refugees, in league with Soros NGOs, is using Libya as the point of embarkation for European invasion.
Thanks, Obama.
Ditto that.
Perfectly said.
I’m not buying what those who frame the news are selling. Anyone I’ve talked to from Libya, Syria, Egypt, even Iraq will say that they were making progress under the leaders the US and our partners in crime regime-changed or attempted to regime change.
Assas is the best choice in that area...
****
Christian quarter is reviving. Churches have been lavishly restored; a large crucifix hangs over the main street. “Groom of Heaven”, proclaims a billboard featuring a photo of a Christian soldier killed in the seven-year conflict. In their sermons, Orthodox patriarchs praise Mr Assad for saving one of the world’s oldest Christian communities.
Well, let’s see if a semi-casual observer can decode this:
>I confess that I have had a lot of trouble following the Syrian affairs.
No surprise there, it’s somewhat deliberately obfuscated.
>I think Assad is bad, but probably the least bad of anyone over there.
Assad is bad. As were Khadafy & Saddam. We’ve since learned how well taking out K&S worked out. I still think that taking S out was a good idea, but the aftermath was very badly mishandled. we’ve found out over the last decade or so about the ‘devil you know’ argument, and how that works out.
> I couldn’t tell what side Obama was on, but I’m pretty sure it was the terrorists.
Yup. That, and (if you believe the theory...) his KSA overlords who want to run a pipeline through to Europe, for those sweet Petro/NG $$$. My other suspicion is that this was all in the category of preparing the region for the coming caliphate/kingdom, but that’s another matter.
>I couldn’t tell what side Trump was on, but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t the terrorists.
Again, yup. That, and he’s actually on _our_ side, which is a rather nice change of pace.
>I have no idea if Trump is happy with the current outcome.
I think he’s okay with it as long as ISIS is destroyed, and things are brought back to a dull roar - that doesn’t affect our own security here.
>I have no idea if Putin is happy with the current outcome.
Most likely, very. If you believe the pipeline theory, he’s glad to take out the competition. That aside, stabilizing his ally and maintaining access to a Med naval base/seaport have to make him happy.
>If we had actual journalism in the US, I’d probably have a better understanding of this matter.
Yes, but that’s not the point. The point is to ensure that we don’t understand the matter, aside from what we’ve been told to believe. Years ago, Pelosi was making state visits to Syria and the media was writing puff pieces on how Assad Jr. was such a nice, progressive dictator. Until he became inconvenient. Then, suddenly, he had to go. It’s all very curious. We’re left with half truths and tea leaves, and who knows what to think or believe anymore, it’s mostly crap.
Personally, I think it would be best off if the French just re-colonized the area, but we know that’s not going to happen. (semi-sarcastic)
Realistically, short of starting a direct war with Russia, which is probably not a smart idea, we have little or no business in the area, and the best we can do is clean up the mess and leave it to Assad.
Huzzah.
(That and something about Serbia not being worth one drop of Pomeranian blood or something like that)
Which is why I've never been all that upset about Russia's current presence in Syria. Certainly several light years better than what Obola and the Witch wanted.
Assad is a member of Alawites, an offshoot sect of Shi'ite Islam. They are a minority in Syria, if radical Sunni Islamists ever take charge of the whole country, all members of his tribe will be wiped out. So you can see why Assad has a lot of blood on his hand. He has to fight or his tribe will get eliminated.
The following is from L.A. Times in 2016
Syrian militias armed by different parts of the U.S. war machine have begun to fight each other on the plains between the besieged city of Aleppo and the Turkish border, highlighting how little control U.S. intelligence officers and military planners have over the groups they have financed and trained in the bitter five-year-old civil war.
It’s no wonder you’re confused. Obama’s policy was nonsensical.
Thanks! I thought I was the only one.”
Assad narrowly avoided getting the Kadaffy treatment. In that part of the world, brute force is necessary to keep the neck cutters from creating chaos.
+1
The only time I've been disappointed in President Trump.
“I think Assad is bad, but probably the least bad of anyone over there.
I couldn’t tell what side Obama was on, but I’m pretty sure it was the terrorists.
I couldn’t tell what side Trump was on, but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t the terrorists.
I have no idea if Trump is happy with the current outcome.
I have no idea if Putin is happy with the current outcome.”
Not hard. There are two sides - the government and Terrorists. The government is a well-know entity, they protect minorities, particularly Christians, but they’re harsh as hell on those who threaten them.
The Terrorists have one thing in common, they all want to bring down Assad and establish an Islamic country with an IRON FIST. If they didn’t want that, they wouldn’t be fighting Assad. There is no Thomas Jefferson in Syria, nor in any other Arab country - if you win, it’s by the sword, and if you hold power, it’s by the sword. This is something that Neocons will NEVER learn. Maybe in a 1000 years they’ll be ready for full-up democracy, as it took us in the West that long (if not longer) to do the same.
So, that’s it. A government that ENSLAVES the people it doesn’t like, or a government that protects people who don’t fight it, even though they do crack down on those who do fight it.
This PBS documentary (of all networks) will show you just how much we are being PLAYED on this issue by the media. You’ll be hooked in 2 minutes, it’s that good:
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/inside-assads-syria/
I don't advocate for reckless US involvement in the Middle East so how Trump navigates our future in the country is delicate and remains to be seen. However this statement is flat out ridiculous. A more accurate sentence is Assad *exploits* minorities. And his allies like Hezbollah/Hamas are HARDLY saviors of Christianity. Reality check please.
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.