[oakaz]

Why this comment is down-voted? He tells the truth.

Please look at this guy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahdi_al-Harati

He is the commander of the terrorists in Syria. These people are crazy islamists and all they believe is that they'll save Syria by killing people.

Please see the truth. The Al Jazeera analysis linked above is really good.

[dsaber]

Please get your facts straight. How about you also read these articles:

http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2011/10/2011102799...

http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2012/06/20126410503...

Before the terrorists you're referring to went into Syria, the regime was brutally terrorizing its own citizens. There are countless of videos that prove it. It's the very actions of the mafia-like Syrian regime that has lead the country to where it is today, unfortunately.

[kmcd]

FACT: the overwhelming majority of Syrians support the current government & voted for them in independently observed free elections.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/jan/17/syrians-...

> the regime was brutally terrorizing its own citizens. There are countless of videos that prove it.

Where are videos - have you verified them? Didn't think so.

Re: Houla - carried out by NATO backed terrorists, confirmed in a UN report.

http://www.medialens.org/index.php/alerts/alert-archive/2012...

http://www.medialens.org/index.php/alerts/alert-archive/2012...

http://www.medialens.org/index.php/alerts/alert-archive/2012...

This is part of massacre marketing strategy by NATO, Qatar et al:

Writing in Bild, [2] longtime German war correspondent Jurgen Todenhofer accused the rebels of "deliberately killing civilians and then presenting them as victims of the government". He described this "massacre-marketing strategy" as being "among the most disgusting things that I have ever experienced in an armed conflict"

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/NG24Ak02.html

So you fully support killing civilians to aid a propaganda effort?

[dsaber]

> FACT: the overwhelming majority of Syrians support the current government & voted for them in independently observed free elections.

Had you even lived in Syria, you'd realize how it's virtually impossible to get an accurate and true poll. There's absolutely no freedom of expression. Citizens don't trust each other. There's around 275 intelligence officers for each Syrian citizen. The country is littered with the picture of the ruling Assad mafia that's shoved down the throat of all citizens. The vast majority of Syrians are scared to death of government. I know this, since not only have I lived there, I have many relatives and friends who have been either imprisoned, tortured, or exiled for simply speaking out.

Obviously, the government does have some support, but it's vast majority of supporters are beneficiaries of the government or are dependent on the government for their source of income. Add to that the brainwashing and fear the government has instilled in its own citizens for over 40 years, and it's not surprising to see such reports.

> Where are videos - have you verified them?

Yes, many of those videos have been verified.

> So you fully support killing civilians to aid a propaganda effort?

What a ridiculous question. You very well know my position about advocating for the rights and freedom of civilians. But, that question demonstrates many of the classic logical fallacies in your entire argument.

The Syrian government has been terrorizing its own citizens before your claimed propaganda efforts were in the picture. Sure, there are players that are now taking advantage of the situation, but that doesn't invalidate the claim that the main responsible party in the destruction of the country is the Syrian regime, which has allowed other parties to take advantage.

[kmcd]

Gotcha!

You are clearly not who you claim to be. You're either a liar or a shill. You created your profile a day ago:

https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=dsaber

I note that you are unable to engage in any of the critical issues.

> Had you even lived in Syria

You've never lived in Syria - you're a fake.

Contact me directly & I'll get one of my Syrian friends to have a chat with you.

What were the main electoral issues for the 2012 elections?

> Yes, many of those videos have been verified.

You have failed to provide any evidence of this. You dont seem to understand the difference between assertion & fact.

Facts & evidence please - not assertion.

> There's around 275 intelligence officers for each Syrian citizen

275 * 20.82 million citizens = 5500 million intelligence officers? You're an idiot.

> You very well know my position about advocating for the rights and freedom of civilians.

NO, we don't know your position.

> , that question demonstrates many of the classic logical fallacies in your entire argument.

Such as?

Yeah, didn't think so. If you even knew what a logical fallacy was you would have stated it.

> What a ridiculous question.

You don't seem to understand a rhetorical question. So I'll put it more clearly for you:

You are supporting killing civilians to aid a propaganda effort.

Again, we note that you do not acknowledge the fact that: - NATO backed death squads were responsible for the Houla massacre; - western media tried to blame the Syrian government; - western media ignored the UN report exonerating the Syrian government;

> your claimed propaganda efforts

There's nothing claimed - the propaganda effort is a FACT.

Also the death & destruction on the ground is not claimed, it's a fact.

> the main responsible party in the destruction of the country is the Syrian regime

Yet again, incorrect.

Snipers from Dagestan armed with US produced M40A3 rifles started shooting civilians in 2011.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27955.htm

http://www.ozyism.com/2011/12/us-sniper-squad-caught-on-vide...

There are over 300 European mercenaries languishing in Syrian jails:

http://www.ozyism.com/2012/06/40-german-arms-smugglers-arres...

There are over 20000 Foreign Mercenaries in Syria:

http://www.globalresearch.ca/americas-uncleared-war-nearly-2...

http://www.kurdnas.com/en/index.php?option=com_content&v...

A United Nations Independent Commission, has confirmed that: - contractors hired by the Pentagon were training the terrorists in the use of chemical weapons; - terrorists possess sarin nerve gas, which they are using against the civilian population

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=United+Nations+Independent...

http://www.globalresearch.ca/pentagon-contractors-have-train...

Furthermore, Qatar has been implicated in a plot to procure chemical weapons from a UK security company for use by the death squads, hoping to blame the government.

http://www.infowars.com/hack-reveals-washington-approved-pla...

All of which you seem quite happy with.

It is obvious you have no empathy for the suffering of the Syrian people & fully support the killing of civilians by NATO death squads.

[dsaber]

> You've never lived in Syria - you're a fake.

Not only have I lived in Syria, I was also born there. It's precisely because I previously lived in Syria that I care deeply about the issue and care for the country. It's precisely because I still have relatives there (who most are now refugees in Turkey) that I care about this issue. I clearly can't help you if you want to think I'm lying.

I'll take on your offer and contact you directly. You haven't left your contact info though. Do provide it and we'll get in touch.

> 275 * 20.82 million citizens = 5500 million intelligence officers? You're an idiot.

Sure, I'm an idiot. Given how smarter you are and how much you know about Syria, you should have corrected my statement and indicated that I mistakenly reversed the ratio. My originally intended statement of 1 intelligence officer to every 275 citizen still holds.

> All of which you seem quite happy with.

It's interesting that most of your sources are ones that match the exact message of the Syrian regime, about the entire world conspiring against them. Your sources also happen to be the same ones that speak about other conspiracy theories, like 9/11 being an inside job, the Boston marathon bombing being staged, etc.

> It is obvious you have no empathy for the suffering of the Syrian people & fully support the killing of civilians by NATO death squads.

Who said I like NATO being involved? Given how much you're singling out NATO, are you ok with the Syrian regime involving Iran and Hizboullah with the conflict and stirring sectarian strife?

Using your logic, I can say the same thing about you. You have no empathy for the suffering of the people there, given how much you support the current Syrian regime, which is ranked among the most repressive regimes on earth.

However, I'm not going to use your flawed logic here. I'm pretty sure you care for the Syrian people and the hundreds that are dying every single day. You just happen to believe the Syrian regime and the conspiracy theories. This is what the Syrian regime is good at: misinformation. Unfortunately, being on the Syrian regime's side is a dark future for Syria. It led the country no where for over 40 years; what makes you think it will suddenly change now?

As for me, I'm on the side of the people advocating for peace, freedom, dignity, and liberty. The Syrian regime does not have the best interest of the country in mind. It's run like a mafia, ruled by one family for over 40 years. At the same time, I'm also against foreign intervention. Unfortunately, the conflict right now is at a point where a lot of evil people are going to take advantage of, including governments, extremists, and others. Those sides need to be stopped as well. But who gave them the opportunity to get involved? That's right, the Syrian regime and its actions.

[WalterSear]

Because they said there was no civil war going on in Syria.

[oakaz]

So what?!

My brother studies in Hatay, a city near Syria. This city used to be a safe, liberal city.

Until the fucking "civil war".

Now, it's filled by a kind of some radical islamists migrated from Syria because of the "civil war". Now women and children in Hatay are afraid of going out of their home because their streets are full of aggressive and criminal North Syrian extreme islamists.

Check those links. This war is definitely not for democracy.

[nandemo]

It's a conflict between the Syrian government forces and several militias of (mostly) Syrians. So it's a civil war.

Yeah, some of the militias aren't interested in democracy, and some are funded by external powers that have various interests in Syria. It's still a civil war.

[oakaz]

It is definitely not.

As you can see the prove in my other comments, Free Syrian Army was established by a NATO sponsored Libyan terrorist. As you can see in their videos, these fucking terrorists don't even speak the Syrian dialect of Arabic.

We are talking about a global terrorist organization and huge manipulations made by NATO countries to legalize this terrorism.

Please go to do some research.

[katbyte]

At what point does it go from terrorism to a civil war?

I'm not saying syria is or isn't one, but you got me thinking about how a civil war could very well be labeled terrorism and vice versa depending on the spin you wanted to put on it.

[kmcd]

> several militias of (mostly) Syrians. So it's a civil war.

Incorrect: this is an external destablisation by NATO, Qatar et al. & a heroic defence by the Syrian people.

Who is training, funding & supporting the death squads in Syria? NATO, under the supervision of Robert Stephen Ford:

http://www.globalresearch.ca/the-salvador-option-for-syria-u...

Negroponte/Ford were resposible for running the death squads in central America in the 80's & Iraq in 2004 onwards.

If Mexico & Canada were sending snipers to the US & some libertarians joined in - would you call that a civil war?

[WalterSear]

I lived in Syria for 8 years. Some of the early members of the FSA were good friends of a cousin of mine. This war wasn't started by outside forces, no matter who got involved after te fact.

Sure, there's all sorts of crazies involved now, but there are also still plenty of Syrians involved. Which makes it a civil war.

[knowaveragejoe]

The links don't help though. The main one is an Op-Ed piece. The other is from GlobalResearch which is borderline conspiracy drivel.

[oakaz]

If you are looking for the truth, it's really not hard. Go to Youtube, search about the street reviews in Syria made by BBC, see how Syrian people expressed themself to rest of the world.

[katbyte]

Just because some Syrians express a view on does not make it the view held unanimously by all Syrians, and thus 'the truth'. Different folk will be benefiting and supporting the existing regime while others will be protesting it, look at the States, or any nation and how easy it is to find differing viewpoints on almost anything.

I don't know what the truth about the situation in syria is, nor do i think i ever fully will no matter how many youtube videos/interviews i watch, however from what i have seen of the government's response to the protests makes me lean towards thinking that government is not deserving of the power it has.

[WalterSear]

FWIW, everyone knows that the Syrian government is an evil beast. However, Asaad and his father have mercilessly controlled the religious factions, holding together an otherwise fractured society, and made it possible for minorities to survive.

The power vacuum it leaves behind will be much worse for Syria than the regime. And that's not even counting the damage that all the external forces will be doing.