The Official Syria (and all things about it) Thread

[The Godly Nations]

Welp.
This is far more complicated than I thought it was going to be.

Of course it is, when has anything concerning the Middle East been anything but complicated.

[Alien Space Bats]

Assad is a pretty wily politician and leader...

Yep. Assad is a genius and Obama is an idiot.

<pause>

Obama Derangement Syndrome has gone global.

Do you think it's because he's black? I mean, we all know that Africans are stupid, right? Not like Europeans or Asians or Arabs...

[Torcularis Septentrionalis]

Welp.
This is far more complicated than I thought it was going to be.

"Assad's an asshat" is about the only clear-cut thing in the whole situation.

What has Assad done to earn the name "asshat"?
Not trying to challenge you I'm srsly confused about the whole thing???

[Imperializt Russia]

Assad is a pretty wily politician and leader...

Yep. Assad is a genius and Obama is an idiot.

<pause>

Obama Derangement Syndrome has gone global.

Do you think it's because he's black? I mean, we all know that Africans are stupid, right? Not like Europeans or Asians or Arabs...

Their cranial extension and pitting are all too telling...

Just in case it wasn't exactly clear, I'm making fun of phrenology, not black people.

[Alien Space Bats]

Don't hold back, ASB: tell us what you really think about the Fourth Estate.

I think that as news analysts and reporters, they make great bricklayers.

Seriously, as a class these people mostly suck information and intelligence out of the heads of their listeners.

I'll read and respond to the rest of your post in a bit...

[Occupied Deutschland]

"Assad's an asshat" is about the only clear-cut thing in the whole situation.

What has Assad done to earn the name "asshat"?
Not trying to challenge you I'm srsly confused about the whole thing???

Everyone (well, most folks anyhow) agrees Assad's dictatorial powers and domination of Syrian politics is what precipitated the revolution. So by that standard he's kind of a jerk.

Nobody can really decide if the rebels would be/are any better though (or even if they could form a functioning government at all).

It's a mess, I guess is what it boils down to.

[Agritum]

Assad is a pretty wily politician and leader...

Yep. Assad is a genius and Obama is an idiot.

<pause>

Obama Derangement Syndrome has gone global.

Do you think it's because he's black? I mean, we all know that Africans are stupid, right? Not like Europeans or Asians or Arabs...

....well....

[Soldati Senza Confini]

Welp.
This is far more complicated than I thought it was going to be.

Like my professor in Foreign Policy said: "Foreign Relations are like relationships"

Relationships are complicated.

But here, let me put it in relationship style <puts glasses on>:

Basically let's say Shirley (US) is pissed at her best friend Sarah (Syria) for using stink bombs against her own family, when Shirley adviced Sarah that was such a stupid idea. Then Katerina (Russia) and Ming (China) are actually backing up Sarah because in their opinion she is completely cool and they pretty much want Shirley to fuck off.

Shirley refuses to accept this and goes and tries to convince her family she is right in doing it and have their backup in case she does need it. They don't really trust her because she has done prior fuck ups which have drained them emotionally as well as economically, and they see that her mishaps have also done damage to other people they didn't intend to piss off, so really and truly her family thinks is mixed: some want to still back her up while some just want to leave everything alone and fuck Sarah, why? Because she is acting like a complete bitch and somehow they feel Shirley is better than that.

I guess that's as best as I can put it in a layman sense.

[Vetalia]

This one almighty flow chart holds the key to peace in the Middle East.

I think it's buried under all the arrows though.

Edit: Spoiler'd

What's really interesting is that nobody supports Al Qaeda.

[Torcularis Septentrionalis]

What has Assad done to earn the name "asshat"?
Not trying to challenge you I'm srsly confused about the whole thing???

Everyone (well, most folks anyhow) agrees Assad's dictatorial powers and domination of Syrian politics is what precipitated the revolution. So by that standard he's kind of a jerk.

Nobody can really decide if the rebels would be/are any better though (or even if they could form a functioning government at all).

It's a mess, I guess is what it boils down to.

Yeah I guess that's my confusion, like everyone is against Assad, but also everyone seems to be against the rebels where I live so I have no clue what to do except stand in the corner and drool on myself while I sob.

[The Godly Nations]

Welp.
This is far more complicated than I thought it was going to be.

Like my professor in Foreign Policy said: "Foreign Relations are like relationships"

Relationships are complicated.

But here, let me put it in relationship style <puts glasses on>:

Basically let's say Shirley (US) is pissed at her best friend Sarah (Syria) for using stink bombs against her own family, when Shirley adviced Sarah that was such a stupid idea. Then Katerina (Russia) and Ming (China) are actually backing up Sarah because in their opinion she is completely cool and they pretty much want Shirley to fuck off.

Shirley refuses to accept this and goes and tries to convince her family she is right in doing it and have their backup in case she does need it. They don't really trust her because she has done prior fuck ups which have drained them emotionally as well as economically, and they see that her mishaps have also done damage to other people they didn't intend to piss off, so really and truly her family thinks is mixed: some want to still back her up while some just want to leave everything alone and fuck Sarah, why? Because she is acting like a complete bitch and somehow they feel Shirley is better than that.

I guess that's as best as I can put it in a layman sense.

We do not know if Sarah really did use stink bombs on her family yet.

[Torcularis Septentrionalis]

Welp.
This is far more complicated than I thought it was going to be.

Like my professor in Foreign Policy said: "Foreign Relations are like relationships"

Relationships are complicated.

But here, let me put it in relationship style <puts glasses on>:

Basically let's say Shirley (US) is pissed at her best friend Sarah (Syria) for using stink bombs against her own family, when Shirley adviced Sarah that was such a stupid idea. Then Katerina (Russia) and Ming (China) are actually backing up Sarah because in their opinion she is completely cool and they pretty much want Shirley to fuck off.

Shirley refuses to accept this and goes and tries to convince her family she is right in doing it and have their backup in case she does need it. They don't really trust her because she has done prior fuck ups which have drained them emotionally as well as economically, and they see that her mishaps have also done damage to other people they didn't intend to piss off, so really and truly her family thinks is mixed: some want to still back her up while some just want to leave everything alone and fuck Sarah, why? Because she is acting like a complete bitch and somehow they feel Shirley is better than that.

I guess that's as best as I can put it in a layman sense.

No, I get that.
I don't get why Sarah and her family has been having a fucking meltdown for these past however many years.

[Soldati Senza Confini]

Everyone (well, most folks anyhow) agrees Assad's dictatorial powers and domination of Syrian politics is what precipitated the revolution. So by that standard he's kind of a jerk.

Nobody can really decide if the rebels would be/are any better though (or even if they could form a functioning government at all).

It's a mess, I guess is what it boils down to.

Yeah I guess that's my confusion, like everyone is against Assad, but also everyone seems to be against the rebels where I live so I have no clue what to do except stand in the corner and drool on myself while I sob.

Some are against the rebels because it is divided in several factions, some of which are extremist in nature. Basically, in a way, this is a forebearing of the same flaw in Iraq: somehow, after we topple down Assad, there will be a clusterfuck of different factions which will be trying to get power to get rid of the others. Or so one of the predictions go.

[Torcularis Septentrionalis]

Yeah I guess that's my confusion, like everyone is against Assad, but also everyone seems to be against the rebels where I live so I have no clue what to do except stand in the corner and drool on myself while I sob.

Some are against the rebels because it is divided in several factions, some of which are extremist in nature. Basically, in a way, this is a forebearing of the same flaw in Iraq: somehow, after we topple down Assad, there will be a clusterfuck of different factions which will be trying to get power to get rid of the others. Or so one of the predictions go.

If I was Shirley, I would take a vacation and when I come back, see which one of Sarah's family isn't dead.

[Soldati Senza Confini]

Like my professor in Foreign Policy said: "Foreign Relations are like relationships"

Relationships are complicated.

But here, let me put it in relationship style <puts glasses on>:

Basically let's say Shirley (US) is pissed at her best friend Sarah (Syria) for using stink bombs against her own family, when Shirley adviced Sarah that was such a stupid idea. Then Katerina (Russia) and Ming (China) are actually backing up Sarah because in their opinion she is completely cool and they pretty much want Shirley to fuck off.

Shirley refuses to accept this and goes and tries to convince her family she is right in doing it and have their backup in case she does need it. They don't really trust her because she has done prior fuck ups which have drained them emotionally as well as economically, and they see that her mishaps have also done damage to other people they didn't intend to piss off, so really and truly her family thinks is mixed: some want to still back her up while some just want to leave everything alone and fuck Sarah, why? Because she is acting like a complete bitch and somehow they feel Shirley is better than that.

I guess that's as best as I can put it in a layman sense.

No, I get that.
I don't get why Sarah and her family has been having a fucking meltdown for these past however many years.

The reason Sarah and her family has been having a meltdown for these past years is because Sarah sees their family as inferior, and she makes them feel like shit. Not only that, but when they oppose her, she uses physical force and cunning tactics to abuse them to the point where they now feel resentful towards her and want to kick the shit out of her.

[Frisivisia]

Welp.
This is far more complicated than I thought it was going to be.

Like my professor in Foreign Policy said: "Foreign Relations are like relationships"

Relationships are complicated.

But here, let me put it in relationship style <puts glasses on>:

Basically let's say Shirley (US) is pissed at her best friend Sarah (Syria) for using stink bombs against her own family, when Shirley adviced Sarah that was such a stupid idea. Then Katerina (Russia) and Ming (China) are actually backing up Sarah because in their opinion she is completely cool and they pretty much want Shirley to fuck off.

Shirley refuses to accept this and goes and tries to convince her family she is right in doing it and have their backup in case she does need it. They don't really trust her because she has done prior fuck ups which have drained them emotionally as well as economically, and they see that her mishaps have also done damage to other people they didn't intend to piss off, so really and truly her family thinks is mixed: some want to still back her up while some just want to leave everything alone and fuck Sarah, why? Because she is acting like a complete bitch and somehow they feel Shirley is better than that.

I guess that's as best as I can put it in a layman sense.

When those "stinkbombs" are actually releasing carbon monoxide which kills Sarah's little sister and Shirley is the only police officer in town, Shirley intervening to prevent Sarah, who we now know is fucking insane and enjoys carbon monoxiding people, from carbon monoxiding more people looks a little bit better than it does in your rather loaded analogy.

[Soldati Senza Confini]

Some are against the rebels because it is divided in several factions, some of which are extremist in nature. Basically, in a way, this is a forebearing of the same flaw in Iraq: somehow, after we topple down Assad, there will be a clusterfuck of different factions which will be trying to get power to get rid of the others. Or so one of the predictions go.

If I was Shirley, I would take a vacation and when I come back, see which one of Sarah's family isn't dead.

Lol, makes good logic

[Frisivisia]

Like my professor in Foreign Policy said: "Foreign Relations are like relationships"

Relationships are complicated.

But here, let me put it in relationship style <puts glasses on>:

Basically let's say Shirley (US) is pissed at her best friend Sarah (Syria) for using stink bombs against her own family, when Shirley adviced Sarah that was such a stupid idea. Then Katerina (Russia) and Ming (China) are actually backing up Sarah because in their opinion she is completely cool and they pretty much want Shirley to fuck off.

Shirley refuses to accept this and goes and tries to convince her family she is right in doing it and have their backup in case she does need it. They don't really trust her because she has done prior fuck ups which have drained them emotionally as well as economically, and they see that her mishaps have also done damage to other people they didn't intend to piss off, so really and truly her family thinks is mixed: some want to still back her up while some just want to leave everything alone and fuck Sarah, why? Because she is acting like a complete bitch and somehow they feel Shirley is better than that.

I guess that's as best as I can put it in a layman sense.

No, I get that.
I don't get why Sarah and her family has been having a fucking meltdown for these past however many years.

Probably something to do with Sarah being a controlling, oppressive bitch.

[The Godly Nations]

Like my professor in Foreign Policy said: "Foreign Relations are like relationships"

Relationships are complicated.

But here, let me put it in relationship style <puts glasses on>:

Basically let's say Shirley (US) is pissed at her best friend Sarah (Syria) for using stink bombs against her own family, when Shirley adviced Sarah that was such a stupid idea. Then Katerina (Russia) and Ming (China) are actually backing up Sarah because in their opinion she is completely cool and they pretty much want Shirley to fuck off.

Shirley refuses to accept this and goes and tries to convince her family she is right in doing it and have their backup in case she does need it. They don't really trust her because she has done prior fuck ups which have drained them emotionally as well as economically, and they see that her mishaps have also done damage to other people they didn't intend to piss off, so really and truly her family thinks is mixed: some want to still back her up while some just want to leave everything alone and fuck Sarah, why? Because she is acting like a complete bitch and somehow they feel Shirley is better than that.

I guess that's as best as I can put it in a layman sense.

When those "stinkbombs" are actually releasing carbon monoxide which kills Sarah's little sister and Shirley is the only police officer in town, Shirley intervening to prevent Sarah, who we now know is fucking insane and enjoys carbon monoxiding people, from carbon monoxiding more people looks a little bit better than it does in your rather loaded analogy.

Again, we don't know that for sure, nor does the analogy fit because the government and the rebels are in a war, unlike that family, which does involve killing people to achieve their objectives, making Sarah not an insane nihilist who kills people for the fuck of it, but an extremist.

[Agritum]

Like my professor in Foreign Policy said: "Foreign Relations are like relationships"

Relationships are complicated.

But here, let me put it in relationship style <puts glasses on>:

Basically let's say Shirley (US) is pissed at her best friend Sarah (Syria) for using stink bombs against her own family, when Shirley adviced Sarah that was such a stupid idea. Then Katerina (Russia) and Ming (China) are actually backing up Sarah because in their opinion she is completely cool and they pretty much want Shirley to fuck off.

Shirley refuses to accept this and goes and tries to convince her family she is right in doing it and have their backup in case she does need it. They don't really trust her because she has done prior fuck ups which have drained them emotionally as well as economically, and they see that her mishaps have also done damage to other people they didn't intend to piss off, so really and truly her family thinks is mixed: some want to still back her up while some just want to leave everything alone and fuck Sarah, why? Because she is acting like a complete bitch and somehow they feel Shirley is better than that.

I guess that's as best as I can put it in a layman sense.

When those "stinkbombs" are actually releasing carbon monoxide which kills Sarah's little sister and Shirley is the only police officer in town, Shirley intervening to prevent Sarah, who we now know is fucking insane and enjoys carbon monoxiding people, from carbon monoxiding more people looks a little bit better than it does in your rather loaded analogy.

And this is how you turn a teen drama into an action movie.

[Frisivisia]

When those "stinkbombs" are actually releasing carbon monoxide which kills Sarah's little sister and Shirley is the only police officer in town, Shirley intervening to prevent Sarah, who we now know is fucking insane and enjoys carbon monoxiding people, from carbon monoxiding more people looks a little bit better than it does in your rather loaded analogy.

Again, we don't know that for sure, nor does the analogy fit because the government and the rebels are in a war, unlike that family, which does involve killing people to achieve their objectives, making Sarah not insane, but extreme.

If Sarah is fighting with her husband and kills their daughter, and unrelated and innocent party, with carbon monoxide, I'm cool with intervention.

[Frisivisia]

When those "stinkbombs" are actually releasing carbon monoxide which kills Sarah's little sister and Shirley is the only police officer in town, Shirley intervening to prevent Sarah, who we now know is fucking insane and enjoys carbon monoxiding people, from carbon monoxiding more people looks a little bit better than it does in your rather loaded analogy.

And this is how you turn a teen drama into an action movie.

You need to hire Michael Bay to direct.

[Soldati Senza Confini]

Like my professor in Foreign Policy said: "Foreign Relations are like relationships"

Relationships are complicated.

But here, let me put it in relationship style <puts glasses on>:

Basically let's say Shirley (US) is pissed at her best friend Sarah (Syria) for using stink bombs against her own family, when Shirley adviced Sarah that was such a stupid idea. Then Katerina (Russia) and Ming (China) are actually backing up Sarah because in their opinion she is completely cool and they pretty much want Shirley to fuck off.

Shirley refuses to accept this and goes and tries to convince her family she is right in doing it and have their backup in case she does need it. They don't really trust her because she has done prior fuck ups which have drained them emotionally as well as economically, and they see that her mishaps have also done damage to other people they didn't intend to piss off, so really and truly her family thinks is mixed: some want to still back her up while some just want to leave everything alone and fuck Sarah, why? Because she is acting like a complete bitch and somehow they feel Shirley is better than that.

I guess that's as best as I can put it in a layman sense.

When those "stinkbombs" are actually releasing carbon monoxide which kills Sarah's little sister and Shirley is the only police officer in town, Shirley intervening to prevent Sarah, who we now know is fucking insane and enjoys carbon monoxiding people, from carbon monoxiding more people looks a little bit better than it does in your rather loaded analogy.

I said that's as best as I could put it. Not that that was the only general interpretation.

And well, I didn't want to go about it in a "death" scenario. But the thing is that most of it is what I can gather from watching this whole thing develop. Shirley family's reaction towards her, based on her history of pretty much appearing to be an opportunistic bitch when it may probably not be the case, puts some of her family members off.

And Shirley doesn't even know if Sarah is as batshit insane as she claims or was one of her brothers framing her.

[The Godly Nations]

Again, we don't know that for sure, nor does the analogy fit because the government and the rebels are in a war, unlike that family, which does involve killing people to achieve their objectives, making Sarah not insane, but extreme.

If Sarah is fighting with her husband and kills their daughter, and unrelated and innocent party, with carbon monoxide, I'm cool with intervention.

If you go about supporting the Husband, who may have just as much blood on his hand, and may very well have been the one to set off the stink-bomb, carbon monoxide thing, and whose views on raising their family consist of giving everyone that disagrees with him a strong backhand, then intervening is probably not for the best.

[Imperializt Russia]

Like my professor in Foreign Policy said: "Foreign Relations are like relationships"

Relationships are complicated.

But here, let me put it in relationship style <puts glasses on>:

Basically let's say Shirley (US) is pissed at her best friend Sarah (Syria) for using stink bombs against her own family, when Shirley adviced Sarah that was such a stupid idea. Then Katerina (Russia) and Ming (China) are actually backing up Sarah because in their opinion she is completely cool and they pretty much want Shirley to fuck off.

Shirley refuses to accept this and goes and tries to convince her family she is right in doing it and have their backup in case she does need it. They don't really trust her because she has done prior fuck ups which have drained them emotionally as well as economically, and they see that her mishaps have also done damage to other people they didn't intend to piss off, so really and truly her family thinks is mixed: some want to still back her up while some just want to leave everything alone and fuck Sarah, why? Because she is acting like a complete bitch and somehow they feel Shirley is better than that.

I guess that's as best as I can put it in a layman sense.

When those "stinkbombs" are actually releasing carbon monoxide which kills Sarah's little sister and Shirley is the only police officer in town, Shirley intervening to prevent Sarah, who we now know is fucking insane and enjoys carbon monoxiding people, from carbon monoxiding more people looks a little bit better than it does in your rather loaded analogy.

America isn't the only cop in town, it's just the only one that actually wants to go and hit the 200-man converted warehouse crack factory. And though the UNSC SWAT team, and not even the friendly department cops from Little Italy (and England, and much of the EU and NATO) don't think it's a good idea, America wants to go it alone.