Syria

[give her dixie]

Does anyone know what happened to the Irish Libyan who was paid by the CIA to go fight in Libya and then ended up in Syria?

[muppet]

Does anyone know what happened to the Irish Libyan who was paid by the CIA to go fight in Libya and then ended up in Syria?

Did they send him with Ryanair?

[Hardy]

Does anyone know what happened to the Irish Libyan who was paid by the CIA to go fight in Libya and then ended up in Syria?

His transfer wasn't approved - sent home to Cavan.

[muppet]

Meet http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Spring,_Baron_Risby

The former Tory MP, and current Lord, is not only the Chairman of the British Ukraine Society but he was also a director of British Syrian Society. He appeared on an episode of Dispatches in 2012, on Assad. In 2009 David Cameron appointed him Prime Ministerial envoy to Algeria.

There is nothing wrong with the above, although it is a little unfortunate to be linked to 2 revolutions in such a short space of time. Given his luck I might see what the odds are on a new revolution in Algeria.

It is worth noting some other directorships and positions of the Baron:

Hawkley Oil and Gas Ltd; (An oil exploration company based in Ukraine)
Minexco Petroleum Inc; (An oil exploration company with a focus on West Africa - I have no idea if this is connected to his role as envoy mentioned above))

[johnneycool]

Meet http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Spring,_Baron_Risby

The former Tory MP, and current Lord, is not only the Chairman of the British Ukraine Society but he was also a director of British Syrian Society. He appeared on an episode of Dispatches in 2012, on Assad. In 2009 David Cameron appointed him Prime Ministerial envoy to Algeria.

There is nothing wrong with the above, although it is a little unfortunate to be linked to 2 revolutions in such a short space of time. Given his luck I might see what the odds are on a new revolution in Algeria.

It is worth noting some other directorships and positions of the Baron:

Hawkley Oil and Gas Ltd; (An oil exploration company based in Ukraine)
Minexco Petroleum Inc; (An oil exploration company with a focus on West Africa - I have no idea if this is connected to his role as envoy mentioned above))

I would severely doubt that as that wouldn't be honest and that just wouldn't be cricket old boy!

Didn't the bould Davy Cameron, whilst in the midst of the Arab spring lead a business envoy to the middle east, most of which were Arms dealers tell you all you need to know about the Wests interests in that region.

[give her dixie]

Also, while Cameron was bombing Libya back to the dark ages, he took a few hours of a break and travelled to Stormont. He was greeted with 2 standing ovations by all. To this day, none of the main parties condemned the death and destruction imposed upon Libya by Cameron, Obama and co

[give her dixie]

Meet http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Spring,_Baron_Risby

The former Tory MP, and current Lord, is not only the Chairman of the British Ukraine Society but he was also a director of British Syrian Society. He appeared on an episode of Dispatches in 2012, on Assad. In 2009 David Cameron appointed him Prime Ministerial envoy to Algeria.

There is nothing wrong with the above, although it is a little unfortunate to be linked to 2 revolutions in such a short space of time. Given his luck I might see what the odds are on a new revolution in Algeria.

It is worth noting some other directorships and positions of the Baron:

Hawkley Oil and Gas Ltd; (An oil exploration company based in Ukraine)
Minexco Petroleum Inc; (An oil exploration company with a focus on West Africa - I have no idea if this is connected to his role as envoy mentioned above))

I would severely doubt that as that wouldn't be honest and that just wouldn't be cricket old boy!

Didn't the bould Davy Cameron, whilst in the midst of the Arab spring lead a business envoy to the middle east, most of which were Arms dealers tell you all you need to know about the Wests interests in that region.

Yeah that was in Cairo as the dust was still in the air following the fall of Mubarak

[Mike Sheehy]

Does anyone want to actually have a discussion on Syria ? One that focuses on what should be done now and in the future.

Simplistic criticism of the US is all well and good but it won't achieve anything. What role should the UN play, should Russia or China attempt to do something or should the conflict just be allowed to take its course.

btw, this is a question for the board. There is no point in trying to have a rational discussion with those other two.

What can be done? Send in a UN peace keeping force, but who would that involve and how would the conflict ultimately resolve itself when the peacekeepers are removed.Libya and Iraq are sectarian blood baths yet we all hailed democracy when the despot dictators were deposed by rebels, but democracy is still a long way off!


Why do the Arab league not do more or is there interests at work on both sides that we're not aware of? We only ever hear of Russia's self interests?

ok, having pointed out the issues and weighed up the pros and cons do you yourself think there should be an intervention or not ?

It is not impossible for a sectarian bloodbath to be resolved to some semblance of normality. I think its fair to say that the situation in the Balkans is a lot better than it was in the early 90's.

This is a vicious conflict. An external force would have to go in with real teeth. We all know that will never, ever happen with the UN. So if anything is to happen it would have to be done by a country with real military capability that is sanctioned by the UN.  So if we rule out the US and the UK then you are left with

France
Russia
China

along with some smaller militaries like

Australia (??)
Canada

anyone else ??

(and, hypothetically speaking, lets assume these countries are willing to participate)

Of course the other option is to do nothing. That is, as harsh as it sounds, a perfectly valid option. It's not the one I'd pick myself but it has strong points in its favor. It would mean that Syrias future is decided primariliy by Syrians (notwithstanding the interference of Iran etc) however brutally they choose to resolve it. However, if that IS your opinion I think you should state it categorically and also you must stay consistent. You can't say "they should do nothing" and then come back later and start criticizing countries like the US for not doing anything.

btw can you clarify what you meant by "We only ever hear of Russia's self interests" . All of the replies since I posted have been, as usual,  about the western involvement in Libya or Egypt, links to oil all the usual stuff. Not one of them mentioned any Russian self interest. Iran was also mentioned but absolutely no actual criticism of their interference was made.

(None of them addressed what, if anything,  should be done about Syria either  ). 

[orangeman]

http://www.independent.ie/world-news/middle-east/irish-family-distraught-as-son-joins-syrias-rebels-30403842.html

Derry men in Syria.

[haranguerer]

Ah they're outta the championship, they might as well head off for the summer

[orangeman]

Ah they're outta the championship, they might as well head off for the summer

Boston, San Fran or Philly would be better crack surely ?.

[seafoid]

Climate change seems have been one of the catalysts for the war in Syria

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/jul/02/water-key-conflict-iraq-syria-isis
"Increasing temperatures, one of the longest and most severe droughts in 50 years and the steady drying up of farmland as rainfall diminishes have been identified as factors in the political destabilisation of Syria.
Both Isis forces and President Assad's army are said to have used water tactics to control the city of Aleppo. The Tishrin Dam on the Euphrates, 60 miles east of the city, was captured by Isis in November 2012.
The use of water as a tactical weapon has been used widely by both Isis and the Syrian government, says Nouar Shamout, a researcher with Chatham House. "Syria's essential services are on the brink of collapse under the burden of continuous assault on critical water infrastructure. The stranglehold of Isis, neglect by the regime, and an eighth summer of drought may combine to create a water and food crisis which would escalate fatalities and migration rates in the country's ongoing three-year conflict," he said.
"The deliberate targeting of water supply networks ... is now a daily occurrence in the conflict. The water pumping station in Al-Khafsah, Aleppo, stopped working on 10 May, cutting off water supply to half of the city. It is unclear who was responsible; both the regime and opposition forces blame each other, but unsurprisingly in a city home to almost three million people the incident caused panic and chaos. Some people even resorted to drinking from puddles in the streets," he said .
Water will now be the key to who controls Iraq in future, said former US intelligence officer Jennifer Dyer on US television last week. "If Isis has any hope of establishing itself on territory, it has to control some water. In arid Iraq, water and lines of strategic approach are the same thing"."

[Mike Sheehy]

Well, they are going to need water in that Sunni homeland you've been advocating...you know, the one you refuse to give details on.

[haranguerer]

Ah they're outta the championship, they might as well head off for the summer

Boston, San Fran or Philly would be better crack surely ?.

It would seem not, for him.

[seafoid]

Well, they are going to need water in that Sunni homeland you've been advocating...you know, the one you refuse to give details on.

Does your ADD/Tourettes routine work on women ? It's not very good on men.