Forum Post: www.DontAttackSyria.com ~ No More Blood For OIL!!
Posted 10 years ago on Sept. 3, 2013, 9:48 p.m. EST by WSmith
(2698)
from Cornelius, OR
This content is user submitted and not an official statement
Remember the old tired chants: "No Blood for OIL!" "No War for Oil!" ???
NO MORE BLOODY WARS FOR OIL!
Follow the money: Big Oil and Big Weapons.
Just say NO!
Grayson on Syria: "We Have Our Own Problems To Deal With"
FROM Team Grayson alangrayson@GraysonForCongress.com
Dear Americans:
As we head toward a Congressional vote on a U.S. military attack on Syria, Sunday was a national TV doubleheader for Congressman Alan Grayson - he argued forcefully against war on both CNN and MSNBC. Here is what he said on MSNBC:
MSNBC's Alex Witt: Joining me right now is Democratic Congressman Alan Grayson, member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, and the Middle East and North Africa Subcommittee. Representative Grayson, thank you for being here.
Congressman Alan Grayson: Yes, thank you for having me.
Alex: So you've been very vocal, sir, in your opposition to any kind of intervention [in Syria]. What is your argument against this?
Alan: Well first, it's not our responsibility. Secondly, whatever we do won't actually accomplish anything useful. Third, it's expensive. And fourth, it's dangerous.
Alex: Okay. You're pretty definitive in that. How much pushback are you getting from any of your constituents, or from fellows in the House?
Alan: None. My position is actually the popular position here [in Orlando]. We set up a website called DontAttackSyria.com, and within less than 24 hours, we had 10,000 signatures in our petition to the President against this action. The polls now show, and will continue to show, that Americans understand that this is simply not our responsibility. We are only one country out of 196. We have our own problems to deal with. We are not the world's policeman, nor are we the world's judge, jury, and executioner.
Alex: All right. I'm curious if there's any debate on this though, in your mind, because you have said that you don't even think it's clear a chemical attack occurred. Now, Doctors Without Borders, which is a completely impartial group, says that its partners have treated 3600 people with chemical weapons symptoms. Do you not believe them?
Alan: You're misquoting me, and quoting me out of context. I said that several days ago, before that evidence came in.
Alex: Okay, so where do you stand on it now?
Alan: Now I think that there is substantial evidence that there was a chemical attack. That doesn't change my mind about anything that I said, though. I still think that it's not our responsibility, that it's expensive and dangerous, and that our attack won't do any good. I have yet to hear anybody explain to me why our attacking Syria will take away their ability to commit such an attack in the future.
Alex: Do you question, sir, the President saying that this is a threat to our national security, the use of chemical weapons in Syria?
Alan: Absolutely. We haven't been attacked at all. Not a single American has been attacked during the course of the Syrian War, and I think that Americans understand that. Let's tend our own garden.
Alex: Okay. Then what about our allies? What about Jordan?
Alan: They haven't been attacked.
Alex: Turkey?
Alan: They haven't been attacked.
Alex: Israel?
Alan: They haven't been attacked, either.
Alex: What if they were to be attacked?
Alan: Oh, if they were, then that's an entirely different story. Turkey is a member of NATO. We have collective responsibilities with Turkey. If Turkey were to be attacked by Syria, then we would have to act under our NATO treaty. That's not this situation.
Alex: Would you feel better if the U.N. weapons inspectors come back with a report confirming, as anticipated, the use of chemical weapons in the region, and were able to point (even though this isn't their mandate) or if others were able to find proof to point to President Assad's regime as those being the ones who launched this chemical attack, would that change your mind at all?
Alan: No. What would change my mind is somebody explaining to me what the heck this has to do with us.
Alex: Well the President spoke directly to you and your colleagues yesterday. Let's take a listen.
--begin clip of President Obama-- President Barack Obama: Here's my question for every Member of Congress and every member of the global community: What message will we send if a dictator can gas hundreds of children to death in plain sight and pay no price? What's the purpose of the international system that we've built if a prohibition on the use of chemical weapons that has been agreed to by the governments of 98 percent of the world's people and approved overwhelmingly by the Congress of the United States is not enforced?
--end clip of President Obama-- Alex: So what's your response to that?
Alan: Well first of all, not a single other country feels that way. Just a few days ago we had the British Parliament reject that argument.
Alex: France does, I believe.
Alan: Well no, France is saying, "We'll wait and see." So that's not the case at all. How is it that this is always our responsibility? And by the way, the treaty that the President is citing says that in case of violations of that treaty, you take the violators to the International Court of the Hague; you don't just bomb them.
Alex: Okay. Representative Alan Grayson, thank you for your time.
Alan: You're welcome.
Congressman Alan Grayson - you know where he stands. If you want to make your voice heard, then join our petition at www.DontAttackSyria.com . Tell your friends and neighbors, too. Time is running out. http://dontattacksyria.com/ThankYou
Randi Rhodes: On Today's Show - Tue, Sep 3, 2013
The President is seeking Congressional approval for a strike against Syria. And if he gets Congressional approval, that will also convince the 5 percent of the American people who still have any respect for Congress. It’s the right move for Obama to ask for Congressional approval, if only because he might not get it. At least that might stop him from making what could be a serious mistake. Congress may reject or scale-down Obama’s plan for a strike against Syria, if only to embarrass and weaken Obama. That’s the best thing you can hope for from this Congress—that they’ll do the right thing, but for all the wrong reasons.
Former Senator Joe Lieberman attacked the President for seeking Congressional approval to strike Syria. But then Joe Lieberman has never met a foreign policy blunder that he didn’t like. Since when is seeking consensus on a risky action considered stupid? I have news for Joe Lieberman—the phrase “Just Do It” might be a great slogan for a shoe company, but it’s nothing to base a foreign policy on. Lieberman said “I’m sure that our enemies are cheering now as a result of this decision because they realize it’s not clear the president will get authority.” The lesson here—we need to prevent our enemies from cheering, even if it means doing something stupid.
It’s obvious that Obama has not turned to former President Bush for advice on what to do, or by now he would have randomly invaded Jordan... and unsuccessfully at that. You would think that after a debacle like Iraq that it would be generations before a leader would consider something even remotely similar. Of course, that’s what they thought after Vietnam, too. I know we’d all like to forget about George Bush and Iraq, but there are a number of instructive lessons to be learned from all of that! Syria may be a frightening mess, but you rarely improve a mess by bombing it.
Secretary of State John Kerry spent the holiday weekend on all of the talk shows, drumming up support for a strike on Syria. At least Obama didn’t send him out with a vial of anthrax. Many of the talk show hosts asked if Obama pausing to get Congressional approval undermined America’s credibility. I guess their opinion is that, if you’re going to do something reckless, it doesn’t make any sense to pause for a moment to think about it first. If you’re going to do something stupid, do it quickly. Doing dumb things in a careful step-by-step way just makes doing them all the more dumb.
The President has gotten support from John McCain and Lindsey Graham for an attack on Syria. Boy, if that’s not enough to make you question the wisdom of an attack on Syria, what is? McCain put a number of conditions on his support of a strike on Syria. No, one of them was not that Obama also had to “bomb, bomb, bomb Iran,” but I’m sure that’s something that McCain considered. McCain wants Obama to do more to arm the Syrian rebels, and to make any attack on Syria strong enough to weaken the Syrian military. So essentially, John McCain will support an attack, as long as it’s a really big attack.
http://www.randirhodes.com/articles/daily-blog-380723/on-todays-show-tue-sep-3-11621549/
Your Labor Day Syria Reader, Part 2: By William R. Polk. http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2013/09/your-labor-day-syria-reader-part-2-william-polk/279255/
9 questions about Syria you were too embarrassed to ask
Thank you WSmith, for this post. Signed. Have been pressuring reps in DC, and hope many others are doing the same.
We have nothing to gain there. Tell a friend.
The POTUS chooses Diplomacy!
Diplomacy over Shock and Awe, isn't it nice to have a thinking and feeling POTUS for a goddamn change?!
Think what we could do if he had a Congress that wasn't held hostage by 1%-owned RepubliCons, to work with!
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Diplomacy from a POTUS with a KILLLIST. Priceless
Back to your FEMA reeducation camp neo-facist! Or we'll drone your crazy cult ass!
You DO realize that Nazi Germany was a leftwing thing, right? National SOCIALIST party?
However, pointing out our potus has a kill list is hardly fascist, is it?
I DO realize that stupid righties always say the same stupid things like that old tired malapropism. Nazis like all end-justifies-the-means, tyrannical, RW, conservative, reactionary, anti-humanitarian, authoritarian, corporatist Fascists are/were rightwing. Just like the RepubliCon Cult. Now, back to your FEMA RE-ED camp or I'll tell my black brutha to add one to the list.
Wowser! Are you off your meds again? You really think you have a hotline to God?
GW Bush sure did.
Huh? Dub doesn't enter into my discussion with Willy here. He threatened to add me to Obama's kill list.
But, I guess I can understand your confusion. The last 5 yrs have sorta been Bush III and IV
It's your confusion I'm concerned with.
Pretending to have a hotline to the heavens is a Bush speciality, right?
It's not limited to one generation or the other.
Are you being deliberately obtuse? Willy threatened to add me to Peace Prize's kill list. The fact he thought he could communicate with The One implies he thinks he has a hotline to heaven. Nothing to do whatsoever with Bush, until you tried to change the subject or whatever it is you are doing. OMG....is BUILDER just another bensdad/wsmith/Mideast/gbw, et al sock? WOW. You had me fooled for over a year!
Yeah buddy. I'm every poster here except for you.
Kinda closes in on ya, after a while. Don't it?
Naw...there would be 3 of us, since neither of us are the feared and loathed Thrasmaque
I like the Thrasher.
Brings a bit of cheer to the board.
Where is your spirit? Come on people.
I know you're in there. Come on out.
Seriously. Winks.
Wassup 'B' ?! Here's one for you on a day like this :
fiat lux et fiat pax ...
Ouch! Politico scribes don't seem so impressed. If he loses the media.....the possibilities are endless. You ARE having a bad night, huh?
President Obama's pitch: Someone should do something
If President Barack Obama could have canceled his big address to the American people Tuesday night, he probably would have. Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2013/09/obama-syria-speech-analysis-96600.html#ixzz2eYkRW7zv
What Obama said, what he meant
President Barack Obama sought Tuesday to clear away 10 days of confusion surrounding his Syria strategy.
But what looked on the surface to be a sober policy speech also included some unmistakable political messages. Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2013/09/barack-obama-syria-speech-96608.html#ixzz2eYkcxYQj
Obama’s Zig vs. Zag
Two weeks of zig-zag foreign policy by President Barack Obama — marching to war one moment, clinging desperately to diplomacy the next — culminated Tuesday night, appropriately enough, in a zig-zag address to the nation that did little to clarify what will come next in the Syria crisis but shined a glaring hot light on the debate in the president’s own mind. Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2013/09/barack-obama-syria-96607.html#ixzz2eYlLpzEa
These are just the 3 headline stories. You better find your meds, quick
Over a year ago, the U.S. proposed that Syria turn over its chemical weapons for destruction by the international community and join the chemical weapons treaty that bans their possession or use. Syria refused, and Russia refused to demand that it do so. Today they have both said yes.
BS walks, Action talks.
Diplomacy over Shock and Awe, isn't it nice to have a thinking and feeling POTUS for a goddamn change?!
Think what we could do if he had a Congress that wasn't held hostage by 1%-owned RepubliCons, to work with!
He "chose" diplomacy because Putin put him and his red line in a corner
Look, Man Coulter agrees with you: http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/heather/coulter-repeatedly-calls-president-obama-p
She's right this time, Putin did make a monkey out of Obama, but my favorite quote about this is "By getting his head stuck in the bowling ball return, Obama brilliantly tricked Putin into pantsing him"
Btw, did you just use a sexist/trans insult to accuse a woman of racism?
You righties are in such prostrated worship of your 1% cult Lords and their MIC golden goose, it eats your heart out to see an intelligent black Dem, much less a twice legitimately elected POTUS, outsmart the obstructionist and sabotaging Cons in Congress, circumvent a military boondoggle, get a cold war Russky to do the dirty work, and then you have to feign PC and defend a racist, hate & lie mongering, fem(?) closet tranny ~ not Lindsey.
And when we institute Instant Runoff Voting (or fix our 1% biased MSM, label Fox Lies "GOP Propaganda" and restrict Hate-Wing radio from minors and the insane) you Cons won't be able to steal elections and you'll be just a ~ Great Depression, Watergate, Iran-Contra, War on Terror, Great Recession ~ stain on history.
Just because you hate a woman who feels free to speak her mind doesn't make it ok to throw sexist insults at her. I know men like you are threatened by women who think for themselves, but keep the misogyny to yourself or go find yourself a lady who you can tell what to do.
And Obama is still a bumbling boob and the world is laughing at him and us and, especially, you.
No, I'm against Hate & Lie Mongers like Coulter, Rush, Beck and that whole scoundrel Klan.
You Righties are so racist it just drives you fucking insane that a black Dem was legitimately elected twice to the White House, that you forget about your latest example of RepubliCon excellence: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEbZqvMu2cQ ; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=moutUEfqUQ4
You can be against anybody you want. I disagree with a lot of people, but I NEVER make it personal, you stupid, mouth breathing troglodyte. :)
Also, I can't help but imagine that you are yelling out loud as you type, so my goal is to get your neighbors to complain. Nothing personal, it just sounds fun
Let go of the RW racism, embrace your inferiority.
Now stop, I can't be evicted again!
You can't call me a "stupid, mouth breathing troglodyte. :)" and put a dumb-ass smiley face after it, what are you, nuts? 12?
Lol, ok. I'll stop. Wait, just one more. That's all. Promise.
When you lose MM...
Michael Moore @MMFlint 9 Sep So John Kerry has a senior moment, mumbles something about If Syria gives up their chem weapons then we won't bomb, and now the war is off?
Michael Moore @MMFlint 9 Sep The moral of this story? Please, more unscripted, off-the-cuff mumblings by administration officials!
Michael Moore @MMFlint 10 Sep PresidentObama, facing certain defeat in Congress 2 bomb Syria (w/ 2/3 of public also against him) is saved by a Kerry fumble& the Russians!
War and gas averted. Uhhh... Obama sucks!
Follow the money & wealth gap: 9/11 was a 1%-Con-MIC-WS inside job! http://occupywallst.org/forum/40-years-on-remembering-the-first-911-todays-shock/
the pentagon was hit because the people were tired of their countries being bombed
Kentucky Tea Bag-Taliban Clown Evokes Raygun:
Rand Paul Releases Pre-Taped Response To Obama’s Syria Address (VIDEO)
http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entry/rand-paul-releases-pre-taped-response-to-obamas
The 1%-RW TV Clowns say it's masculinity:
Bill O’Reilly, Krauthammer: Obama May ‘Never Recover’ From Syria http://www.mediaite.com/tv/oreilly-obama-may-never-recover-from-syria-krauthammer-mocks-all-talk-and-no-action/
backing down was the right choice
human ain't no mere predator
More 1%-RW TV Clowns:
Glenn Beck Laments: ‘This Is the Week America Lost Its Superpower Status’ http://www.mediaite.com/tv/glenn-beck-laments-this-is-the-week-america-lost-its-superpower-status/
rand paul the son of ann rand and ron paul just describe the war in terms of Muslims killing christians
arrest him for racial incitement
1%-RW TV Clowns Evoke the Rapture:
Fox anchor asks viewers to consider if bombing Syria is a harbinger of the Second Coming of Christ [OF COURSE!]
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/09/10/fox-anchor-asks-viewers-to-consider-if-bombing-syria-is-a-harbinger-of-the-second-coming-of-christ/
Wowser! Did you go off your meds?
Don't be a pussy, I haven't even had my coffee yet.
Weren't you looking for a melee?
"Closet tranny" remarks with a negative connotation followed by calling people pussies.
Keep it going. Your neocon tendencies are showing again.
Diplomatic results talk, RW BS walks!
Your criticism is boringly lost, vapid and limp.
Cons all lack creativity and, although you all espouse individuality, you lack independent thinking. All hat and no horse.
Jon Stewart Destroys Fox News' 'Parasitic, Succubus-Like Existence' As They Bemoan War With Syria Slipping Away [ Makes fools of 1%-RW-Teabag Clowns ]
http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/tue-september-10-2013/middle-eastern-promises---blue-bombs
Never mind. I know. You, Willy, think that anyone who doesn't worship Obumbler and (egads) believes in the 2nd amendment must be some right wing, fox watching, racist, homophobic, gap toothed neanderthal? Is that about it? You, Willy/Bensdad/Mideast/gbw give leftwingers and OWSers a very, very bad name.
Now pull out all the socks from your drawer and downvote me some more like you did this morning You are just helping me make OTP very jealous, LOL!!
meh
we all get tired
and you choose to share this with me, why????
wha?? http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/tue-september-10-2013/middle-eastern-promises---blue-bombs
isn't that a code for alkidda isn't real ?
clouded by Thneed
Our Scause?
I'll get back to that later, taking too long to load.
is satire no hurry
When the facts don't work and violence is out of the question, humor is the answer.
Oh. I just realized you are having a bad night since you are a big time gun grabber and are probably bummed about the Colorado recall results, right?
AND, the NYC cockhounds lost tonite, too. SO sad.
I'll cut you some slack tonite......NNNOOOOTTT!!
Cute. Howz come you didn't have a snappy comeback for my observation that Obomber didn't have the votes on Capitol Hill like Dub did? Surprised you didn't just throw an insult out since you certainly could not have given a rational response. I love it when I can strike you dumb (or is that DUMBER??)
Oh yes, you merit snappy like W merited "the Decider." I don't want to jinx it cuz it hasn't happened quite yet, but how does Obama get the just say No, warmongering, RepubliCon kidnapped Congress to Vote against war? Hmmm?
Sure he did, and look what we lost!
Another MIC redistribution of wealth.
Damn diplomacy!
You Cons would have had us in our fifth year fighting a ground war in Iran!!
FO&D Insane RW Bastards!
Syria: A 12 Point Case Against Military Intervention
By Chandra Muzaffar
02 September, 2013 Countercurrents.org
The House of Representatives and the Senate of the United States of America should reject any form of US military intervention in Syria.
Rejection would be a clear statement against war. It would be a lucid message on behalf of peace.
There are at least 12 reasons why the US Congress, and the people of the world, should adopt such a stand.
CONTINUED: http://www.countercurrents.org/muzaffar020913.htm Read more: http://www.randirhodes.com/articles/homework-364336/randis-homework-tue-sep-3-2013-11621269/#ixzz2dvRJUOON
Cobert: Ronald Reagan on Syrian Conflict
Conservatives like Bill O'Reilly have an unconditional ability to know what Super Reagan would do at any given time.
http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/428919/september-09-2013/ronald-reagan-on-syrian-conflict
& Rush: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/09/rush-limbaugh-obama-shuck-jive-syria_n_3895464.html
Why not? Didn't we just spend a week hearing the left channeling MLK's take on today's issues? They would even have us believe MLK in a hoodie
Fitting handle. Could you elaborate on your points?
It looks like your cretinous, racist, rapist-pedophile hero can't keep it together despite all the RW funding ~ look at that house! NRA, gun-nut, shoot first moola!
Raygun thought he was shooting a reality show, Rush would have made a good Nazi propagandist... wait, he is!
Give up on the tyrannical, greed-addled, 1%-owned, RW, RepubliCon Cult!
Choose democracy, Truth, Justice and the American Way!
Obama Backs Idea for Syria to Cede Control of Arms
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/10/world/middleeast/obama-embraces-russian-proposal-on-syria-weapons.html?_r=0
Think Obama screwed up with Syria: Hey look, Man Coulter agrees with you: http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/heather/coulter-repeatedly-calls-president-obama-p
And just what has Rachel Mancow have to say?
look it up
What's the surest way to get the just say "No" RepubliCon obstructed, sabotaged and blackmailed Congress to deny and block a Proposal????? Hhmmmmmmm? I can't hear you!!
"9 questions about Syria you were too embarrassed to ask By Max Fisher" Thanks Max, I first have to admit that I knew nothing about Syria and liked it that way. Until I saw a congressman saying that "Syria's war was none of our business". At first I wanted to agree with him. Then I started to think. What if it was our government using chemicals to murder us? Who would help us? I don't think Syria nor any other country would come to our aid. I am not saying that because no one would help us we should not help them. But how do you help people who are hell bent on killing each other or you if they get the chance? Just saying.
In Syria: The Saudis want to pay us to do their dirty work, conflicting Big Oil interests (pipelines & power) want theirs to prevail, and Big Weapons (the MIC) just want more war BUSINESS!
Fuck Them ALL!!
1.) We institute a Manhattan Project (YESTERDAY) to establish alternatives to fossil fuels.
2.) We pull the plug on OPEC, use our own fossil fuels as backup.
3.) We PULL THE PLUG on the Middle East. No more blood, stipends or ransom!!
We have plenty of America & democracy-hating terrorists to fight right here in our own state & federal governments and rapacious Private Sector.
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Jon Stewart: McCain ponders poker hand. As the Senate Foreign Relations Committee considers America's response to the war in Syria, John McCain ponders his response to the river card.
http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/wed-september-4-2013/groundhog-deja-clusterf--k
Colber Report: Cris-Ish in Syri-Eh
Only 29% of Americans want the U.S. to attack Syria, which on the plus side means that 29% of Americans know there is a place called Syria.
http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/428825/september-04-2013/cris-ish-in-syri-eh
Wes Clark and the neocon dream
In 2007, the retired General described a necon "policy coup" aimed at toppling the governments of 7 countries VIDEO
By Glenn Greenwald
http://www.salon.com/2011/11/26/wes_clark_and_the_neocon_dream/
Oh Magog! Why End-Times Buffs Are Freaking Out About Syria
Novelist Joel Rosenberg has the ear of Rick Santorum, Rick Perry, and the Heritage Foundation. He thinks conflict in Syria was foretold by the Old Testament. http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/09/syria-joel-rosenberg-damascus-countdown-magog
Syria intervention plan fueled by oil interests, not chemical weapon concern
Massacres of civilians are being exploited for narrow geopolitical competition to control Mideast oil, gas pipelines
"The geographic area of proven oil reserves coincides with the power base of much of the Salafi-jihadist network. This creates a linkage between oil supplies and the long war that is not easily broken or simply characterized... For the foreseeable future,..."
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/earth-insight/2013/aug/30/syria-chemical-attack-war-intervention-oil-gas-energy-pipelines
Wesley Clark ( US 4 Star General ) US will attack 7 countries in 5 years.(Posmedprod.com) [The MIC Neo-Con New World Order]:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ha1rEhovONU#t=320
Where Does Your Congressman Stand on Syria? From the Republican anti-interventionists to the Democratic hawks.
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/08/where-does-your-congressman-or-senator-stand-syria
Your Labor Day Syria Reader, Part 2: By William R. Polk.
Probably like you, I have spent many hours this last week trying to put together the scraps of information reported in the media on the horrible attack with chemical weapons on a suburb of Damascus on Wednesday, August 21. Despite the jump to conclusions by reporters, commentators and government officials, I find as of this writing that the events are still unclear. Worse, the bits and pieces we have been told are often out of context and usually have not been subjected either to verification or logical analysis. So I ask you to join me in thinking them through to try to get a complete picture on what has happened, is now happening and about to happen. I apologize for both the length of this analysis and its detail, but the issue is so important to all of us that it must be approached with care.
CONTINUED: http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2013/09/your-labor-day-syria-reader-part-2-william-polk/279255/
9 questions about Syria you were too embarrassed to ask
By Max Fisher, Published: August 29 at 12:50 pmE-mail the writer
The United States and allies are preparing for a possibly imminent series of limited military strikes against Syria, the first direct U.S. intervention in the two-year civil war, in retaliation for President Bashar al-Assad’s suspected use of chemical weapons against civilians.
If you found the above sentence kind of confusing, or aren’t exactly sure why Syria is fighting a civil war, or even where Syria is located, then this is the article for you. What’s happening in Syria is really important, but it can also be confusing and difficult to follow even for those of us glued to it.
Here, then, are the most basic answers to your most basic questions. First, a disclaimer: Syria and its history are really complicated; this is not an exhaustive or definitive account of that entire story, just some background, written so that anyone can understand it. [K.I.S.S.]
CONTINUED: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2013/08/29/9-questions-about-syria-you-were-too-embarrassed-to-ask/
GOP’s sabotage fetish: Can an honest Syria debate occur?
Obama was right to bring a vote to Congress before intervening in Syria. But a worst-case scenario could greet him
By Joan Walsh | Tuesday, Sep 3, 2013 08:46 AM PST
Maybe President Obama is taking advice from former George W. Bush chief of staff Andy Card, who told the New York Times why his administration didn’t make its big pitch for war with Iraq until September, 2002. ”From a marketing point of view, you don’t introduce new products in August,” Card said, rather callously (he thought the first anniversary of the 9/11 attacks would make for a much better product launch). Calling war a “new product” is at best tone-deaf, and history tells us that the Iraq product launch was marked by fraudulent advertising and a faulty product – but Card had a point: A decision as important as a war, or even a “limited, tailored” military strike against Syria, as Obama has repeatedly said he backs, deserves the nation’s undivided attention – or as much of it as possible.
Politically, this has been a ludicrous summer, dominated by a resurgence of anti-Obama birtherism and new calls for the president’s impeachment, chicken-playing over the debt ceiling and a government shutdown, and more vain attempts to repeal Obamacare. It makes sense that the president wants the nation’s attention fixed on what matters most: We actually have an opportunity for a thoroughgoing bipartisan debate about American foreign policy and national security. How do we define what’s in “American interests” as we consider a strike against Syria? What represents “security” 12 years after 9/11? When must we enforce the world’s strictures against abuses like the use of chemical weapons – and what kind of backing do we need? Should we ever go it alone?
I’m relieved that the president decided to ask for the blessing of Congress, even if he did so belatedly and after sounding determined to strike unilaterally. The question is do we have a media, or a Congress, that can handle this crucial debate. [NO]
CONTINUED: http://www.salon.com/2013/09/03/gops_sabotage_fetish_can_an_honest_syria_debate_occur/?source=newsletter
To Obama skeptics: That Threat Worked
By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF | Published: September 11, 2013
For all you innumerable skeptics of President Obama’s calls for military strikes on Syria, consider this:
For decades, Syria has refused to confirm that it has chemical weapons. Now, facing a limited strike, its position abruptly changed to: "Oh! We do have them after all! And we want to sign the Chemical Weapons Convention! We want to show them to United Nations inspectors."
CONTINUED: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/12/opinion/kristof-that-threat-worked.html
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Syria crisis: UN receives Syria chemical treaty papers
The UN has confirmed it has received documents from Syria on joining the Chemical Weapons Convention, which outlaws their production and use.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-24068867
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http://civic.moveon.org/Syriasurvey_support_or_oppose.html?id=74322-7128581-DScYs9x&t=2
They had about 48% of their goal yesterday and they have 60% now.
This NO WAR Petition: http://dontattacksyria.com/?source=ANBA93
I know. I hate signing anything but I signed this one. They're at 68% now.
And Grayson is rightfully bragging!!
I'm sure the rabid Hollywood anti-war crowd will soon be leading protests like they did when Bush was office. Any day now we can expect, Matt Damon, Jeanie Garafolo, Susan Sarandon, and Sean Penn to be protesting in the streets against the war monger, cowboy, go-it-alone Obama.
What's that? They're not interested? Because why? .....OH YEA...he's a democrat...and he's black.
I get it...WAR now A-OK with liberals.
"YES...MORE BLOOD FOR OIL"!!
No.
As a typical parroting RW Zombie Troll, YOU'RE BACKWARDS!
The only reason you are sliming the board with this is because the POTUS is a Black Dem who was legitimately elected twice by the American People in acts of democracy!!
Cheney-Bush allowed 9-11 (at the least) and exploited it to implement Project for a new American Century (New World Order) Plans that were devised before they stole the presidency. And engaged in one of the largest and most horrendous Blitzkriegs of Fraud, Murder, Theft (treason) all to Redistribute our 99% wealth to the greed-addled few in the 1%.
We don't expect Zombie Trolls to comprehend the glaring factual differences, can't get blood out of a turnip.