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How a victorious Bashar al-Assad is changing Syria
The Economist ^ | Jun 28th 2018

Posted on 06/29/2018 10:34:09 AM PDT by MinorityRepublican

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To: ClearCase_guy; MinorityRepublican; Mrs. Don-o; Steve_Seattle; FreedomPoster; RedStateRocker; ...
Only God knows what will become of Syria at this point and I don't pretend to be an expert on how the U.S. should operate in the region. Maybe we're supposed to leave now! Who knows? But can we PLEASE cut with the "Assad saves Christians" narrative? It's just ridiculous.

Assad refers to EVERYONE against him as "ISIS" or "rebels" yet he has no problem empowering terrorist organizations like HAMAS and Hezbollah to establish strangleholds in his country. And if anyone other than Trump were President right now, Iran would be only be gaining in steam and power.

North Korea: The Assad family also has a long time *personal* relationship with the Kim dynasty in North Korea with a long history of weapons exchange including chemicals. There are even parks and streets named for Kim Il Sung in Damascus.

"Orthodox Church says blah blah" - which one? The Orthodox Church communities around the world are divided. The *Russian* Orthodox church will say whatever burnishes Putin regime. Speaking of North Korea, They too have a "church" in North Korea and have had for years. Are they really saving Christians though? Christians in Syria (Orthodox or otherwise) may be under pressure or else face fall out for daring to criticize Assad at all.

But all that aside...

I really appreciate this insight from Philippe Nassif, the head of the organization "In Defense of Christians."

Assad’s cleverly crafted narrative has for years gained acceptance from some DC policymakers, religious freedom communities, and Christian activists that my organization, In Defense of Christians, operates among. That is, he portrays himself as the protector of Syria’s Christians and other religious minorities, such as the Druzes, Yezidis, and his own Alawites, to name a few. In the face of the Islamic State scourge and many other Islamist rebels who despise Christians and other minorities, Assad was right. Christians were better off living in government-controlled areas and have stuck by, reluctantly, to his regime. But the narrative has quickly crumbled the last two years as the world has learned about the Syrian government crushing dissent and accepting tens of thousands of Shia mercenaries from places like Pakistan and Afghanistan, along with Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Iranian military forces, to fight for his regime.

As the war grinds on into its seventh year and the economy buckles under the conflict’s devastation, Christians are starting to leave Syria for good. Although no official numbers are available, Syrian Christians may now represent less than 3 percent of the population, down from a high of 7 percent eight years ago. Their elimination would be devastating for Christianity in the region. But that is exactly what is happening, and Bashar al-Assad is partly to blame.

The regime has exploited Christians for years. Assad effectively handed the country’s security to Shia militias that in Iraq showed little regard for allowing Christians to return home after the genocide there. Those militias are repeating the same practices in Syria.

- Providence Magazine

41 posted on 06/30/2018 2:00:16 PM PDT by CondoleezzaProtege
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To: Claud

If Trump were not President, Assad and Iran would have mounted an incredible offensive (I don’t mean just militarily, but geopolitically speaking) - and controlled the dynamics of the whole Middle East.

Assad loves terrorists when they support him. Everyone else he calls “ISIS” or “rebels” irrespective of affiliation - which is why even some Christians are hesitant to speak out against Assad. They’re damned from either side.

Perhaps the US is too involved physically in the region, but that’s no justification to sing the praises of Assad. He exploits Christians — in the way his allies Hizbollah/Hamas do with children in Gaza: as human shields.


42 posted on 06/30/2018 3:06:27 PM PDT by CondoleezzaProtege
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To: MinorityRepublican

This is true, just noticed your post and couldn’t have said it better. What terrorist and ISIS-loving Obama, crooked Hillary and neocon McCain could never understand is that Assad may be an SOB but he’s the only one in power protecting the Christians and other minorities from ISIS and the other extremists in Syria who also attack the West. Hillary wanted to bomb Assad and the Russians and basically hand over Syria to ISIS, but Trump frustrated their plans with his victory. and even though the neocon traitors still lingering in the swamp tried to dupe Trump into heavily bombing Syria in April, he was still smart enough to hold back from any major operation. Europe’s also been wising up on the “refugee” fraud, I was there last year. Even though Europe’s equivalent of Democrats and RINO’s, aka. Angela Merkel, tried to flood Europe with a hostile culture, ultimately the people stood up and elected populists all throughout the continent, including in Germany. Merkel is now in constant crisis and on her last legs, opposed by her own people and government, and the Syrians and other Muslims are either being kicked out or even more common, just self deporting when they realize the societies they’re trying to mooch off wont accomodate them anymore and they’re not welcome.


43 posted on 07/06/2018 5:55:42 PM PDT by Javeth
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