PJM Exclusive: Video from Syria’s ‘Great Friday Uprising’ (Content Warning, Continually Updated)
Dar’aa:
A man identified as Bilal al-Shooha lies dead with a gruesome face wound. Men cry in the background:
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Mare’h (suburb of Aleppo):
http://pjmedia.com/files/2011/04/Aleppo.-Aprill-22-Night-demonstration-in-Mareh-northern-suburbs-of-Aleppo.flvA night demonstration that gathered after learning of today’s earlier massacres — this is an area of Aleppo that has not held demonstrations previously, a sign that the intensity of the situation is increasing. They chant: “God, Syria, and Freedom Only!” Then: “Bidna al-Haq! (We want justice!)”:
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Hama was also attacked savagely in 1982, with heavy artillery and tanks, by Assad’s father. The bombardment lasted for two weeks. Some 30,000 people died.
As an American with Syrian roots, I want the American people to witness the horror of the Assad regime.
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Update: Moadamyeh. April 22, 2011:
In the video one can hear live ammunition being used as soon as anyone tries to reach the main street. The videographer shouts “Protect yourselves from these thugs, protect yourselves”. After some automatic weapons are fired, the videographer shouts “Listen world how live ammunition is being used”. He makes the statements that already 10 people have died as a result of sniper fire already today.
http://pjmedia.com/files/2011/04/ghadry_moadamyeh_4-22-11.flv
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Update: April 23 — Birzeh (outskirts of Damascus):
http://pjmedia.com/files/2011/04/Birzeh-Damascus.-April-23-2011.-Burial.-Chants-are-People-Want-to-Topple-the-Regime.flvAt a funeral, thousands of people chant: “The people want to topple the regime!” If today plays out like yesterday, it won’t be long before security snipers start shooting at this crowd. (UPDATE, 8:55 a.m. EST: The AP has received witness accounts claiming six people have been murdered this morning — two in Izraa, and four at a funeral “outside Damascus”) :
Newer videos follow on next page.
“Confronted by this brutal repression and a looming humanitarian crisis” Obama will surely “authorize all necessary measures to protect the Syrian people.”
Obama…!??!!
*Crickets chirping*
The caption for the Zabaltani clip is not accurate. The man that is on the ground at about 3:00 does have what appears to be a head wound but he is also clearly alive, as seen in the second closeup of him when they put him back on the ground around at 4:40, where he lifts his left arm as the group of men lift him up.
It was a severe wound but judging from the blood flow, not fatal.
The cry is not to G-d, but to the god. Allah is a purly Arabic word meaning the god. Again, “no god but one god”. It should read, ” no god, but the god”.
Sorry, it is very important not to mislead people. The god, or Allah Akbar means the god is greatest! The god is greatest of what? The god is greatest of all other gods at the kabba. Allah, or the god, has been proven by History, a correct version, as the god Sin.
It is very bad to see such hate on Good Friday. However, this is a part of the word under the curse of a false religion, with hate towards Israel. It will not be any other way until the G-d of Noah, Abraham, and Moses sends the word made flesh to rule the world he holds the deed to.
LEATHERNECK: I agree most whole heartedly with you.
There is only one GOD and his name is not Allah. The one GOD rules over the universe and even more. There is no one like HIM.
Islam is a corrupt religion made so by that corrupter Mohammed. A man who thought he had the ear of some god and road roughshod with hate and murder over the world.
That Word made flesh is already here.
Allah is the supreme rock god of the Qurayish tribe. The Qurayish had 670 gods at the time of Mohammed. He wanted to create a monotheistic religion so he picked Allah because everyone knew the name Allah. (It is that big black meteor sitting at the kaaba). The profession of faith that you spek of, the shahada, says: “La illah ila allah wa mohammed rasul allah” There is no god but allah and mohammed is his messenger. illah = god while allah = god of the koran and the supreme rock god of the qurayish before islam.
Indeed, Leatherneck, “Allahu Akbar” properly means “Allah is greater” (than your god), in line with the infantile supremacism that is at the core of Islam.
So what are we as Americans to do about the violence in Syria? The videos are graphic and sad. People are hurting. The reality is that its not our fight. Bloody Islam has to sort out its own situation. No longer should we be in Islamic countries trying to intervene with our blood and treasure. The big fight is coming (ie., Iran). Until that time lets pull all of our troops home from the three wars and bring ourselves together as a country and culture. From a tactical standpoint we have no place in the middle east. Our time, unfortunately, will come as the only guarantor. Lets prepare for that, and that alone. Damn Islam.
Of course it’s our fight; very little in the world has not been touched by American power at this point. We can’t have our cake and eat it too. Let’s not act like Western power structures don’t prop up and legitimatize power structures everywhere else in the world. The people of Syria need the love, compassion, prayer, and as much support as can be given by their brothers and sisters the rest of the world over, and let’s start with telling our oligarchs we are fed up and are not willing to fight fire with fire anymore (as is being done in Libya), we are too smart to think violence can end violence, and we’re not blind to the economic and political motivations of action vs. lack of action (witness Libya vs. Saudi, Bahrain, Yemen). What makes anyone think we can profit from the misery of others, and when they fight back against our enablers it’s “not our fight”?
Oh, please, stop with the pseudo Arabic expertise. Allah is the Arabic word for God. This is just silly to make a mountain out of a molehill. The real issue is that a chiefly secular dictator is shooting his own citizens. Even a Christian steeped in bigotry against Muslims can surely disapprove of that.
As a nation of Christians steeped in bigotry against muslims, we seem to be admitting a huge number of muslims in our midst with remarkable tolerance. You’re free to practice your religion and spew your hatred of us and our religion completely unfettered. Would that muslim countries practiced our style of bigotry.
I would, indeed, like to see a good investigative report about how immigration quotas from the various countries and regions of the world are determined, and to see how they have changed over recent decades. At the same time, have some pity. Many people coming here from the Middle East are fleeing terrible violence and maybe even oppression of their particular brands of Islam by other brands. Not all of these people are the forward vanguard of the new global caliphate.
“Not all of these people are the forward vanguard of the new global caliphate.”
Really? Take at look at Dearborn, Jersey City and all the other places in the US where these snakes have formed islamic dens of intolerance and hate.
We are not doing a thing to help, we are unable to help. But some of the protesters were protesting in front of the camera holding English banners hoping for western help which we all know will never come. Seems more humane for the west to just pack up their cameras, shut down their news service and leave.
Bigotry: Understanding that following Islam requires the intolerance and hatred of other beliefs, especially Judaism and Christianity, which have no such dogmatism.
Steeped in bigotry? Ridiculous. We reject the obvious, nothing more, and we tolerate all peaceful Muslims otherwise. The word is misused far too often.
Great footage. Chilling.
Totalitarians use any method to secure thier rule. Islam gives great cover for a particular brand of dictator and has been used for generations. I will not debate or questions someones religious beliefs it is none of my beeswax. These are muslims murdering muslims but not in the name of God. This is just a evil dictator suppressing an uprising by murdering his own people. What is really sad is that Isreal is the only country in the region with the resources and the real national intrest to help but because Isreal has become so poisened in the Islamic mind there is very little chance of that happening.
If an honest effort to mend differences were made by the people trying to put down these reppresive regimes were made Isreal would come to thier defense. A new and more freindly Syrian Govt. could be installed and that would actually go a long way to cool off the region but because of the intolerance of Islam as practiced in that region there is very little chance of that ever happening.
How hard would it be to take out all his air defenses, then drop a few hundred pallet loads of AK-47s and grenades in friendly areas? I suspect it could be done in a weekend. Then leave them to fight it out on their own. Which is also what we should have done with Libya. Arm the people and wish them well, but the rest is none of our business.
Islam gives great cover for a particular brand of dictator and has been used for generations,Islam requires the intolerance and hatred of other beliefs
The Assad regime is cruel though not unusual. The regime that may follow, with the partial assistance of those determined to spread ‘democracy’ to a Muslim Arab sphere unready for same, may well be worse. While John McCain and most neo-Cons praise the rebels in Libya, many wear souls of al Qaeda. Beware.
You should forward all of these to Vogue Magazine’s Joan Buck to bookcase her recent artcile on the sleek, sophisticated and oh so stylish Syrian first lady.
And to our Secretary of State, Hillary Rodham Clinton, who said that Assad is a reformer.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Shame on Obama who for the past 2 years has been sending love letters to the Islamist regime in Iran. Two years ago, the hired murderers from Syria and Hezbollah and Hamas were shooting Iranian demonstrators in streets of Iran and now the Revolusionary Guards of Iran and the head of Iran’s police, Radan, have been imported to Syria to kill the innocents in Syria.
It is Passover, the holiday which celebrates freedom, and Easter weekend, the holiday that celebrates the Christian faith in resurrection. I cannot stand to watch these videos but do because I want to give witness to the martyrdom of the people who died for freedom.
Syria AND Iran united in one goal…decimate Israel.
Sunni AND Shiite united in one Islam…decimate Israel.
This cocktail of muddled religious thought and fervor will continue no matter what Western REASON is ascribed to thought and actions in the Middle East. All Israelis want is peace. Be left alone. Do their own “thing.” Contribute to mankind. Islamist’s waant to tear this down and replace it with WHAT? Sharia? Pleeeze, give me a break!
I’m amazed that commenters here would bother to quibble over irrelevancies when viewing videos of the carnage that’s going on in Syria. It’s a symptom of what’s wrong with the West, though. People are being murdered by their own government, and we are shamefully unwilling or unable even to acknowledge it, let alone make the smallest effort to do anything about it.
We have our own problems. One of which is the stupendous amount of muslims being let into this country. Dearbornistan=Good By Free Speech, Hello Sharia.
Wrong with the West, really?
Might it be that most of us are realists (Not starry eyed multicultural relativists) and have seen it all before (Iran, Afghanistan, Somalia, Sudan, Iraq etc.)………
Don’t think for a moment that all those ‘protesters’ and ‘reformers’ you see are revolting to establish a ‘Western style’, free, open, democratic and just society.
As soon as they have disposed of the Assad clan they will go on the street to burn American flags and call for the destruction of America and Israel… Allahu Akbar!
Violence ALWAYS occurs after Friday ‘prayer’.
Somehow I don’t think they are hearing a message of conciliation, a ‘turn the other cheek, love thou brother and sister’ kind of sermon.
When all the killing has finished there will be another ruthless dictatorship dominated by another tribe\clan until the next bloodbath……
1400 years of practice and tradition, 1400 years of Islam.
Insallah.
Great info/videos, and comments. Did some Forensic Pathology, and suggest previous comments on head wounds should be ignored. Love this site and its comments. Thank you
“dying for freedom”? No, . . . they’re just dying, they don’t have a 2nd Amendment, not being under the aegis of anything of the Roman Civil Code—which, according to The Book of Daniel, and according to our ideas concerning law, is the universal standard—by the simplest definition then, though wearing contemporary clothing and all, they are therefore an uncivilized people, and are simply engaging in foolish protests and getting themselves shot, . . . if to help them in any real way, we would have to begin at the beginning, with the foundations of thought—get them a real religion by which they would learn how to think, . . . but of course, our own G0D damned David Howell Petraeus, who is the leading USA commander would have to stop HIS BURNING OF THE BIBLES which are being sent to this backward people, . . . but then, I don’t know, it may be that, kept as backward looking and fractionated, they constitute less of a threat in the world; maybe that’s the goal, who knows, . . . but however those things might be, I offer that, it is as one great man has left for us: “If God and His Word are not known and received, the devil and his works will remain in the ascendancy. If the power of the gospel is not felt throughout the length and breadth of a land, anarchy and misrule, degradation and misery, corruption and darkness will reign without mitigation or end.”.
Is that just about the present condition of Syria—or not?
And, is our General Petraeus, damned by G0D—or not?
I think so; and further, that, to the greatest extent, he takes the USA with him, . . . but then, having given up true representative government, we just have to ride the wagon, bouncing and crashing all the way down to the valley floor; so, . . .
I agree totally with all but blaming Petraeus; he is under orders. To my
understanding the order came from the joint chiefs after a certain jewish
military lawyer filed suit and caused the joint chiefs to act.
Michael L. “Mikey” Weinstein is an attorney, businessman and former Air Force officer his organization MRFF Military Religious Freedom Foundation
is the driving force here. (thats freedom FROM religion)
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2010/05/25/mikey_weinsteins_crusade
The video of head shot child and crowd carrying head shot man remind me of Palestinian propaganda videos. Both videos show grinning participants at odds with the alleged situation.
I do not dispute that bad things are happening in Syria, but these videos seem questionable.
Forgive me if this sounds like a stupid question: maybe it is a stupid question. But here goes . . .
Has a coalition of Iran and Al Quaeda and other powerful terrorists set a trap for us? I mean if we become deeply involved in another Muslim country or countries, would we be so weakened that Iran would have a much better chance of destroying Israel?
I certainly do not want to imply that Obama’s inability to do anything but promote himself is the correct response.
No oil, no Obama.
Why Libya and not Syria? Why not Iran almost two years ago? I don’t think we should be in Libya, but the utter silence regarding Syria is deafening.
Oh, maybe it’s because the Syrian First “Lady” is so stylish.
Or maybe it’s because, as Hillary Clinton, US Secretary of State under the Chicago Jesus pointed out, Assad is a reformer. That is why Obama re-opened diplomatic relations with Syria and expects to win them away from Iran because Obama’s personality is so awesome.
One has to salute the raw courage of the Syrian protesters. They know what their chances of success are and their chances of survival are, yet they keep to streets. If only Bush were president he would at the very least praise their heroism and cause, unlike Obama who only condemns their murder. It takes a lot of leadership ability to condemn a murder.
Has the MSM attributed all the Arab spring to Obama’s Cairo speech yet? I haven’t been watching the news.
In reply to 20. DL Mc. You are correct their was a young man grinning as he observed the mortally wounded young child being cradled by an adult. My caveat to you as to your suspicious take on these videos. As recently as one month ago Syria was free of any street violence undoubtedly for decades. Definitely massive protests with a concurrent hard core military counter attack unfathomable. That insensitive grin on that young mans face is one of someone waking up into an absurdist nightmare. He is without the wherewithal if he should laugh or cry. Since rarely or ever he has ever witnessed any horrific violence in his young life he chose to do what is the most common expression he and most young men display when life is absurdly beyond their understanding, he smiled. This is not in the category of the faked Intifada Palestinian videos.
Hey not so fast. I noticed the grinning guy too and it struck me as extremely odd. I firmly support the protesters and I linked to the videos but I also think that the claims by the Syrian regime that they’ve recovered digital equipment and bottles of fake blood used to fake photos and videos may have some merit. We’ve seen Hezbollah, Hamas, and so forth do such fakery with great success — yah know, Pallywood? So I do think it is possible that some folks on the good and right side may have taken a page from the bad guys. A picture (or video) is worth a thousand words and there may be some folks thinking that the means justifies the end.
I also saw the guy grinning,but then I slowed the video down and you can see he is crying.
Good point, I slowed the video down and saw that he does appear to be crying.
Look this is all good. Muzzie on muzzie=good. This is NOT a pro-Democracy revolution any more than what is going on in any single one of these third world scat holes at this moment. It’s a Civil War for sure. Each of the Syrian cities and regions that are in flames are in flames for their own reasons but united in their hatred of the Alawite minority in charge. It’s almost as much regional as it is religious. Surely an additional component. This is Yugoslavia in miniature without the Euro civilizing Western influence-and we know how that turned out. Assad (pere et fils) are Tito. Looking like fils and his tres chic wife are gonna end up like that lovely Ceausescu couple in Romania. And none too soon. But don’t think for a minute that this will be somehow better for anyone. End game will not result in a democratic Syria. It will be bad for the quite large Christian minority. Possibly worse for Israel. The US must never again endeavor to pull muslims out of the scat in which they live, nor broker any fight in which they are killing each other. Arming every side equal to their size is not a bad idea. More fratricide like in these videos. There is no redeemable faction other than the Christians and God knows they are still Arabs… We must only engage muzzies from now on to kill them when it is in the interests of our own security. And it is manifestly in our interests to kill them by the bushel basket at the slightest provocation.
Absolutely on target…….fire for effect.
Semper fi
Yalla is not god it means let’s go. He is saying go, go, go.
I wish people would remember that this is not just a Muslim issue. Syria had at one time the largest Christian population of any Arab nation. I seem to remember that something like 20% are Christian and another 10% Jewish.
There is only one G*D and we either Fear Him or hate Him. The time is coming when G*D will Open the eyes of many under the sway of Islam and many of those will die.
I don’t get it. Where are Rice, Clinton and Powers. Shouldn’t they enact R2P
Where’s Rice, Clinton, and Powers? Excellent question. I think the answer is they are lying low while The Won tries to figure out how to get himself out of the corner he’s painted himself into with his feckless foreign “policy”. By portraying the civil war in Libya as a tremendous humanitarian disaster requiring a response by the US, Obama is now faced with the conundrum of what to say and do in response to the other, even more violent uprisings in other Middle East muslim countries. With his finger in the air still testing the wind, our Supreme Leader has instead chosen to increase his enormous carbon footprint by going off on another election campaign trip. On the other hand, maybe he now realizes that he should have taken his own and his political supporters’ pre-2008 election advice and not gotten us involved in Libya in the first place. I can go along with that, especially since it is clear that the logic used by NATO and the EU to justify intervention in Libya will eventually be turned on its head and used against Israel by its sworn enemies. That will present the President with an opportunity for creating an even worse foreign policy blunder than the one he’s already committed.
Q: What is our foreign policy?
A: Beats them.
Q: What is the Obama doctrine?
A: Take your pick as the situation demands:
1)”It’s all Bush’s fault.”
OR:
2) “Somebody else take care of this. Who’s up for some golf?”
I mark these videos as “Exhibit 1″ in answer to the question, “Why do we in a modern, civilized America need the archaic and outdated Second Amendment?”. And I rest my case.
Look at these horrific images and remember: Syria has a total ban on firearms for its citizens. Do you really think the government-paid animals in those cars, firing AK-47s at children and old men, would even think about entering that neighborhood if they knew they might encounter even one or two citizens armed with their own AKs or SKSs? I don’t think so.
It’s not “gun control”; it’s “people control”.
WHAT did Egypt,Libya and Syria all have in common. They all where in opposition to the muslim brother hood and wanted to control there own countries all be it they were dictators. The muslim brother hood is financed and backed by Iran. Now that obama has put his tail between his legs and runs away, Iran with obama`s blessing can do whatever it wants to do in the region. I know you are going to say, obama attacked Libya. Yes he did but not to win but put up a front for the world to see and so he can talk a good line of BS about what he is doing. I do not see his black a-s in any of our planes! Obama is a straight up lying muslim!
“They [the Jews] try to kill the principle of religions with the same mentality that they betrayed Jesus Christ and the same way they tried to betray and kill the Prophet Mohammed.”
— Syrian President Bashar Assad at May 5 welcoming ceremony for the Pope
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, May 6, 2001
So Steve you say all Jews are the same and think the same way. That means if you are a muslin you are a terrorist, right! Then we Christians and Jews should be able to kill every muslim because they all want to kill us. It is their koran holy book to kill all non believers, right! What is fair is fair!!!
It is possible, though not certain, that Steve meant to condemn Assad, not Jews.
You may be right Gary Rosen. But which religion is doing all the killing now and teaching their children to be killers? islam is!!
As a wicked Jew, I am indeed responsible for the crucifixion of Jesus and the death-by-poisoned-mutton of Muhammad. We Jews should all just be exterminated, then there will be peace between you Christians and Muslims, I’m sure. If only the Jews didn’t exist, then there’d be no Muslim-Christian conflicts in the Philippines, Ethiopia, West Papua, the Moluccas, Chechnya, Cyprus, Nagorno-Karabakh, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Kosovo, Macedonia, or anywhere else, I’m sure. Oh, I’m just positive on this.
/sarcasm
These people in Syria are really brave to stand up against Assad, given what his father did, killing a whole town of 30,000 where some were rising up against him. This is amazing courage you are seeing in these clips. We can not even imagine.
Yes, the Syrian protesters are very brave, but after hearing nothing but anti-Israel and anti-Jewish spew from Syrians for the past few decades, I really don’t care about Syrians.
In the immortal words of Rhett Butler, “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn.”
I worked with two Syrian brothers years ago in the US. One was very personable and sometimes friendly, talking about how there would be peace once Israel gave up the Golan. Then he would go into stretches where he would praise the Syrian conquest of Lebanon and try to extract information from me about the IDF, etc. His brother, who had worked in Libya, never spoke to me, never addressed me. I thought he was just very shy. I realized later that he probably could not bring himself to speak to a Jew.
I am sorry for those protesters being killed in Syria who are decent people. I am sure there are some. As to supporting the mass uprising of Syrians against their disgusting regime, I feel just the same. We in Israel (I live in Jerusalem) are now facing the emergence of an Islamic Egypt, in stages. There is little doubt what will happen in Jordan if Syria becomes like Egypt…
You’re not facing anything like an Islamist Egypt so why keep repeating such trash? Even the Egyptians don’t know what will happen so how can you know? Egyptians haven’t liked Israel for decades – is that fundamentalism? You can’t dislike Israel unless you eat Sayd Qutb for breakfast? What are you selling here?
Superior instincts, judgment? One gets the feeling that your happiness would be in direct proportion to how crazy an Islamist gov’t is that comes to power in Egypt, the worst bringing the biggest smile.
Joe Friday used to say, ‘Just the facts, ma’am.” Try it on for size, it might fit. In any event it would sound like something other than the droning of an insect.
I got news for you: even if George Washington himself becomes the President of Egypt they still ain’t gonna like Israel. I get tired of hearing that the Muslim Brotherhood, who are the Chicago Cubs of the muslim world, are suddenly gonna start a World Series dynasty and that frickin’ Sunnis, who despise the religious governmental imperatives of Iran, will mimic Iran, and with an American equipped army – that would actually take a miracle. Read about The Companions and let some air in. An imam in Iran is not an imam in Egypt.
These people are going to be your neighbors forever – at some point you might want to apply that faithful certainty devoid of facts in a positive direction; if faith devoid of facts is so magical maybe you can be friends. Or you can live in an armed camp throughout eternity – it’s your call.
Yeah, who ever heard of Islamist fanatics taking over a major country in the Middle East? What a nitwit you are, May.
How can you not give a damn when innocents are being slauthered like this. How do you know that Syrian people didn’t care about jews. When 9/11 happend, Iranians rushed into the streets in support of the victims of that mass murder but where beaten up by the plainclothes paid agents of the despots in Iran. Syrians have also been under unblievable pressure by their dictator, while most likely, you have been enjoying living in democratic country!
The religion of peace is always laying people to peace, R.I.P. and its supporters always dissassociating it form the actions of its true believers savage butchery, wheteher to infidels or other believers.
You don’t see them disassociating Christianity form any violence, though. It’s that hypocrisy thing.
The lack of Leftist protest in Western capitals at the horrific slaughter of Muslim by Muslim all over the Middle East only goes to prove that ‘Liberals’ have no genuine compassion for the welfare of the Arab masses. Their interest doesn’t extend beyond the obsession with Israel and its hoped-for annihilation.
Do you live in a cave? Of course there have been such protests; mostly started by expats but with plenty of Euros.
Easter: The Reason for the Season
. . . Few people will dwell on Easter’s deeper meanings and philosophical nuances this weekend as they celebrate what has become, like Christmas, more a holiday than a holy day. So, enjoy your finery, your bunnies, eggs, jellybeans, chocolate, or even those PC spring spheres. However, as with Christmas, it would be good to remember that there’s a reason for the season.
(Read more at http://www.genelalor.com/blog1/?p=4217)
Mr. farid- i hope that your people will get justice. this is horrific. i wish we knew for certain that the demonstrators are for peace so that my country-israel- could intervene. please forgive us our doubts i”m sue you know full well the complexities of the situation. both for your country and mine. even if they are not really for democracy in values as well- i hope that the killings will stop and you all will have a better life. my heart ache for all this unbelievable sufferings. i dont know if you believes it or not but i really do. perhaps one day..
Trained assassins use headshots.
This is a perfect time to purchase Barry Rubin’s book The Truth About Syria published by Palgrave Macmillian to understand the background of the situation in readable detail.
Second the recommendation, it is an excellent book. If Hillary Clinton, Pelosi and Kerry could read they could have benefited from reading this book before going off to Syria. BTW, the author Barry Rubin has some excellent articles about Syria at the Rubin Report.
Another civil war in the Goathumpistan, by all means let’s get involved!
Interesting that there are so many head wounds. The government forces are clearly aiming to kill, NOT to wound. In this instance we should be encouraging the protesters with everything we have. Syria can’t get much worse than it is right now. Syria already is a close ally to Iran, a big supporter of Hezbollah in Lebanon, and a deadly enemy to Israel. Can’t see how much worse it could get with Assad out of there. We should roll the dice and support the protesters and see what they can come up with. Unfortunately, in that part of the world, Assad would probably only be replaced by either a general in the army or by a mullah. But at least it’s worth a try. Strategically, Syria is much more important that Libya and you actually have a major popular uprising that has a chance of overthrowing the sitting dictator. It is worth a try.
Yeah, maybe we could send them some uniforms, canteens and Halal meals……
We have nothing invested in Syria. They have nothing we need. They don’t buy much of what we have. We have no leverage there. Nobody is going to do much. Unlike Libya, the whole land could revert to barbarism and few in the current government would open their mouths to condemn anything, let alone do something.
Why does this matter? Because Assad knows that he must quell this uprising. And he will. It is what Middle Eastern Dictators do. And just as with Bosnia and Chechnya, Libya, and Iraq, we can not bomb these places back to civility. We need boots on the ground. Right now, we’re spread pretty thin, so I guess someone else is going to deal with this event.
I’d like to care, but I can’t.
Saturday’s WSJ carried an interesting interview with Shirin Ebadi, the Iranian Nobel prize winner now living in the US. She stated that if revolution succeeds in Syria, it will be as if the Iranian regime were to lose its arms. If you don’t want a nuclear Iran menacing the world for the rest of your life, you would do well to care about what happens in Syria. Just sayin’.
The “Hague Convention of 1899″ (bad link btw) restricted national armies in-the-field against each other to the use of “ball ammunition” (FMJ).
It does not apply to internal, security (police) forces; which is why, every police department in the United States specifies that its officers carry hollow-point (JHP) ammo to minimize “collateral damage”.
FMJ ammo tends to give a “through-and-through” wound unless it strikes a bone, and then goes down-the-street to strike someone else.
That works well in warfare where you want to inflict as many non-lethal casualties as possible, thereby tying-up your opponents support forces in caring for the wounded; but doesn’t work well in civilian settings where you end up hurting a bunch of “innocent bystanders”, generating law-suits against the police and city for excessive use-of-force.
Considering all Muslim dominated countries have staged over throws and rebellions for 1400 yrs this is really not important.The murders never really cease,the religious hate and violence between sects never stops and EVERY chance they get they cry for help.They just adapt their excuses for financial aid to fit current trends,buzz word atm-democracy.
Islam is incompatible with democracy,period.
The latest round of “rebels” are well aware of the possibility of being killed and re-repressed.Gaining world attention,sympathy and financial aid is their goal.
Nothing will change for the better in these countries if Islam remains,their governments are far richer than ours,their man power is unlimited with mass reproduction and a peek at history will show you this is a common event.
Help them? How can you justify helping ANY sect of Islam when doing so causes another sect to turn on you in violence and hate? They not only murder their own citizens and religion but would cheerfully wipe you and yours off the face of the earth.We should furnish guns and $’s to advance our own eventual attack?
“The prospect of tyranny may not grab the headlines the way vivid stories of gun crime routinely do. But few saw the Third Reich coming until it was too late. The Second Amendment is a doomsday provision, one designed for those exceptionally rare circumstances where all other rights have failed — where the government refuses to stand for reelection and silences those who protest; where courts have lost the courage to oppose, or can find no one to enforce their decrees*. However improbable these contingencies may seem today, facing them unprepared is a mistake a free people get to make only once”.
Judge Alex Kozinski
Syria’s Ba’ath Socialists and Iran’s effectively-similar totalitarians are our beloved fraternal republic’s deadly enemies and are therefore among our gangster gummint’s closest friends and allies. (The enemy of my enemy is my friend)
Only the mid-east’s single democracy and one quasi-democracy are the O’Zero’ Gang’s foes. And then there is the supplier of Euro-peons’ Neo-Soviet’s on-and-off-shore satellite states’ oil, Libya, recently accepted back into the Civilized World. That sounds like it aughter be on the Obamanation’s enemies list.
Hollow point ammo does not necessarily expand. American snipers use hollow points also because the aerodynamics are better making them more accurate – they are not designed to expand.
With a high-powered .30 cal rifle, solid jacketed ammo can often cause worse wounds than expanding hunting rounds. The solid rounds often tumble or yaw causing massive wounds. Hunters use lead bullets because they are more stable and don’t destroy a massive piece of flesh.
Assad’s Dad killed 40,000 people in Hama with artillery – so what’s the big deal?
islam religon of blood and teror