Oh No! Is This Going To Be Libya All Over Again???

I can agree with 99% of what you have said. The only caveat is that just because we happen to have the most weapons, doesn't automatically make us either the world's policemen nor the best choice to keep the peace if our main strength is a massive pile of weapons. It really just makes us the best at carrying out war not keeping the peace. In fact, I'd argue that having the most weapons coupled with the fact that our number one export is weapons, makes us a pretty bad choice of nations to keep the peace. Now you are right in saying that Obama has used restraint but unfortunately, we will eventually get another Right-winger that will not use restraint. In my opinion anyway.

BTW Welcome new member! Nice to have another voice.

 

Thanks for the welcome!
I see your point about keeping the peace vs. waging war. My father worked many years for General Dynamics :::spit::: after the merger with Chrysler, and even then, we had some discussions about the so-called "brotherhood of arms" and its role in the (1970s) economy. At the time, no one talked about resource wars and the real reasons we were so aggressively interested in the vast desert that we now know as The Middle East. As long as the ME -- and now Africa -- has oil, and we depend on oil to operate our country and our economy, we will be involved to one degree or another in the battle to make that resource our own. Sadly. Tragically. IMHO

 

Obama became the world's policeman when he invaded Libya for "humanitarian reasons" (his words). Now, it's being reported that Syria has tortured and killed up to 256 children between March and November of this year. I can't think of anything more "humanitarian" than trying to save the lives of children. Will Obama invade Syria using the same premise that he invaded Libya? Should he? So far, he hasn't done much except scold Syria.
UN: Syrian forces killed, tortured 256 children

BEIRUT (AP) — A U.N. investigation concluded Monday that Syrian forces committed crimes against humanity by killing and torturing hundreds of children, including a 2-year-old girl reportedly shot to death so she wouldn't grow up to be a demonstrator.

The inquiry added to mounting international pressure on President Bashar Assad, a day after the Arab League approved sweeping sanctions to push his embattled regime to end the violence. Syria's foreign minister called the Arab move "a declaration of economic war" and warned of retaliation.

The report by a U.N. Human Rights Council panel found that at least 256 children were killed by government forces between mid-March and early November, some of them tortured to death. "Torture was applied equally to adults and children," said the assessment, released in Geneva. "Numerous testimonies indicated that boys were subjected to sexual torture in places of detention in front of adult men."

The U.N. defines a child as anyone under the age of 18. The report was compiled by a panel of independent experts who were not allowed into Syria. However, the commission interviewed 223 victims and witnesses, including defectors from Syria's military and security forces. The panel said government forces were given "shoot to kill" orders to crush demonstrations. Some troops "shot indiscriminately at unarmed protesters," while snipers targeted others in the upper body or head, it said.

It quoted one former soldier who said he decided to defect after witnessing an officer shoot a 2-year-old girl in Latakia, then claim he killed her so she wouldn't grow up to be a demonstrator. The list of alleged crimes committed by Syrian forces "include murder, torture, rape and other forms of sexual violence," said the panel's chairman, Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, a Brazilian professor. "We have a very solid body of evidence."

At least 3,500 people have been killed since March in Syria, according to the U.N. — the bloodiest regime response against the Arab Spring protests sweeping the Middle East. Deaths in Egypt, Tunisia and Yemen have numbered in the hundreds; while Libya's toll is unknown and likely higher, the conflict there differs from Syria's because it descended into outright civil war between two armed sides.

http://news.yahoo.com/un-syrian-forces-killed-tortured-256-children-214918815.html

 

So far, not a single peep from the Obama administration about this. Nothing. It makes a person wonder....

 

They are protesters. They knew what they were doing and deserve what they get. It is perfectly acceptable for a government to engage in violence against peaceful protesters. I mean, have you seen them. They are taking up public spaces and creating un-sanitary conditions by crowding into the same place day after day. It isn't right for them to stop the law abiding citizens from enjoying the beautiful public plaza. They are blocking access to important buildings and impeding the ability of local merchants to carry on business. Don't they have any respect for the poor business people they are keeping from making a living.

 

I realize you're being sarcastic, but come on, 256 children tortured and murdered?!?!?!? Syria is hell on earth right now.

 

I agree completely.

 

August 18, 2011 at 09:37 AM EST

The Syrian government has responded with a sustained onslaught. I strongly condemn this brutality, including the disgraceful attacks on Syrian civilians in cities like Hama and Deir al Zour, and the arrests of opposition figures who have been denied justice and subjected to torture at the hands of the regime. These violations of the universal rights of the Syrian people have revealed to Syria, the region, and the world the Assad government’s flagrant disrespect for the dignity of the Syrian people.


http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2011...termined-its-people-president-bashar-al-assad

Nov 12, 2011
President Obama applauded the Arab League's decision today to suspend Syria and consider sanctions against Bashar Assad's government because of violence against its people.
"These significant steps expose the increasing diplomatic isolation of a regime that has systematically violated human rights and repressed peaceful protests," Obama said.

http://content.usatoday.com/communi...ama-applauds-syria-explusion-by-arab-league/1

 

OK, well at least Obama has done something. He has applauded.

 

No one besides De Orc wants to seriously discuss the events in Syria? Very interesting....

 

I would, and may eventually... but I think I have a pretty good idea on what points you'd wanna make, and what points you wouldn't want to discuss.

You want to take the opportunity to make Obama the bad guy, no matter what action he takes or doesn't take in Syria. If he does nothing, he's the "do-nothing" guy and therefore "not Presidential material!". If the U.N. asks the U.S. to take military action, or if Obama himself chose to (with or without U.N. consent), you'd paint him as a 'war-monger' who should be removed from office.

What you wouldn't like to discuss is anything contrary to the above.

Would that be accurate ...or am I misreading your intent?

 

Tell you what, I'll stay out of this one for a couple of days. Give your opinion and discuss it with the other forum members. We'll see where it goes from there. Don't pre-judge what I may have to say...

 

Actually I would like to hear your views, personally I dont want the UK dragged into another conflict as a nation we simply can not afford it, nor can our Armed forces with all the cut backs Heck we soon wont even have a operational carrier till 2030, our Air force is been cut and dont get me started on the state of the Army