SIO32: What Happened In Syria?

4 Replies to “SIO32: What Happened In Syria?”

1. I really don’t think anything serious is going to happen in Syria without Uncle Vlad’s say so. It would be very dangerous to surprise the Russians militarily and I don’t think the Pentagon would allow that to happen; they’re not that dumb. Have you listened to Sam Harris’s conversation with Anne Applebaum? Listen to it. The Trump family are personal friends with the Russian oligarchy and have been for years. And there was no discussion between the Trumps and any of their Russian friends during the campaign? Right. This Syria episode was orchestrated with (if not by) the Kremlin specifically to simulate daylight between the Trump administration and the Kremlin.

   You’re right, the over populated parts of the planet are not where the great advances in medicine, agriculture and technology are coming from. For the Mormon girl in Salt Lake, I’m sure everything is wonderful, but not because of the millions of starving folks in Africa and Asia.

2. I would not be surprised if Assad did gas people. But I would not be surprised if the anti-Assad forces gassed people. My big deal is why do we (USA) shoot first and then ask questions later? We could have sent in chem inspectors to take samples and do detailed autopsies. If we got details info and definitive info then bombed then I would go along with it. How would waiting a few days make a difference?

   Remember the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokyo_subway_sarin_attack Tokyo subway sarin attack. State actors build binary forms of sarin weapons because it guards against accidental release on your own territory. But less sophisticated actors can build a more dangerous single chemical version of weapons.

   The death tole was less than 200 people. A weapon made by a developed country would be more effective (depending on population density). I would like to see inspectors find out how much sarin is in the area and what sort of dispersion method was used. Throwing a Ziploc bag full of sarin can kill people, but it would not kill a vast number because it does not effectively disperse the chemical.

3. That’s cool. But these inspectors, do they just show their passports at the border and waltz in? Will a valid US driver’s license or a current AARP membership get them in? For inspectors to get in and get out alive and be allowed access to anything worth inspecting would require western troops on the ground and that would require Uncle Vlad’s rubber stamp.

4. Humm it seams like each day the us missiles launch becomes less and less relevant. Unless there is another gas attack, this subject is no longer debating. But if there is another gas attack, then all the skepticism I had for Assad being behind will be raised to the second power.

   There is an old expression, “truth is the first causality of war”. My skepticism is now turned towards The White Helmets of Syria. I would like to believe that they are just a group of Syria doing what they can to save lives, but in a war-zone where playing to the outside-world media war is just as important as gains on the ground, I can’t be that naive. I trust with them with equipment that can not be weaponized, but I do not trust them with the lives of American soldiers. I would prefer to give the White Helmets $1M worth of rescue equipment than send in a $1M missiles.

   But any information coming from the White Helmets needs to be examined by the full congress, before more military commitment by US forces.