The Syrian Civil War Update Thread

[Kasz216]

ArnoldRimmer said:

Mr Khan said:
It seems like all the West really wants to do is make strikes against the chemical weapons, which really just seems like a symbolic gesture more than anything.

Several media have reported this morning that the planned military strikes will not even target the chemical weapons, for that could release those chemical weapons in the air and kill much more people. Sounds quite plausible.

They also reported that the planned military strike is also not meant to lead to a regime change, so it's obviously okay that Assad stays in power.

People should really ask themselves: If the real problem is that Assad is an evil dictator using evil chemical weapons - why are neither Assad nor the chemical weapons even targets of the military strike? What on earth are the real military targets of that planned military strike?

Mr Khan said:
Although it baffles me that Assad thought he could get away with it. To really help his own cause, he'd have to deploy chemical weapons on a large scale, and the Syrian Arab Republic has been giving a decent showing against the rebels without having to use WMDs (granted, with the help of Hezbollah, but still)

And it should indeed baffle you, for it really just doesn't make sense. Why should Assad order using chemical weapons, in a situation where

- Obama claimed exactly this as a "red line", crossing which would force the US to act?

- the rebels are currently rather losing that winning, becoming more and more unpopular even among the population

- UN chemical weapons inspectors had arrived just three days before

It just doesn't make sense, the rebels have much stronges motives to make a false flag chemical weapons attack.

 

People should also remember why those UN chemical weapons inspectors are in Syria anyway:

It was back in march, shortly after a supposed chemical weapons attack in Aleppo. It was the syrian government themselves who asked the UN for an independant investigation of the incident, so they were obviously completely convinced that it was the rebels who where behind the attack. The syrian goverment wanted independant UN inspectors to prove that the rebels had been using chemical weapons.

Well, that was in march, and in mid-August, UN chemical weapons inspectors finally arrive. But they have a different agenda than what the syrian government originally wanted: Assad of course wanted the independant UN inspectors because he wanted to prove that the rebels had used the chemical weapons. What we have now is quite the contrary: For some bizarre reason, the UN inspectors are forbidden to investigate who is actually behind the attacks - they are only allowed to prove if chemical weapons have been used at all - which of course nobody even doubts.

They were meant to stay for just a couple of weeks - so why, just why on earth should Assad order a chemical weapons attack just when these inspectors had just arrived?

You seem to have the story backwards.    

The UN checmial weapons team has been waiting forever, and just waiting for Assad to give them full access.  As opposed to just specific areas he wanted them to see. 

In otherwords, the UN wanted to make sure he wasn't showing them staged sites... he refused.  Eventually they agreed on the grounds that no blame was laid, essentially to solve nothing, and allow him to keep claiming the rebels did it.  

(Which is possible, but he's being FAR from transparent in the whole deal.)