Syria and Muslim sectarianism

[bob48]

Yeah. We don't mind if you rhyme a bit, but do too many and we'll think you're a git.

[Gusington]

I expect better from you Bawb. Work on it.

[JudgeDredd]

We should stay the hell out of that mess. Let the Arab League should sort their own sorry mess out.

Whatever the hell we're going to spend pumping up the pockets of military hardware companies we should use to look after the refugees. Let everyone who wants out get out and look after them (in neighbouring countries)

[Boggit]

We should stay the hell out of that mess. Let the Arab League should sort their own sorry mess out.

Whatever the hell we're going to spend pumping up the pockets of military hardware companies we should use to look after the refugees. Let everyone who wants out get out and look after them (in neighbouring countries)

Seems like that's too late. I've heard - BBC News, I think, that the US is going to back the Free Syrian Army with arms.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-22901972

Good luck with that :o, assuming the US really does know who they're arming. :-\ Otherwise it'll bite us on the butt either in Europe, Israel or the US. :'( Like JudgeDredd says we're all better off helping the refugees rather than pour more arms into the region. It's not as though they're short of weapons - after all Saudi and Qatar are spending a small fortune supplying the Sunni's whereas Russia and Iran are busy supplying the Syrian Shia/Government.

[Centurion40]

Great, a shit-sandwich proxy war.

[besilarius]

Part of the issue is safeguarding the Kingdom of Jordan.  They are one of our best allies in the region, and have good relations with Israel.
Right now they are awash in refugees, and if the fighting in Syria spills over, the state of Jordan could be overwhelmed.  They have no oil and the army is small.  Good but small.

[TheCommandTent]

Part of the issue is safeguarding the Kingdom of Jordan.  They are one of our best allies in the region, and have good relations with Israel.
Right now they are awash in refugees, and if the fighting in Syria spills over, the state of Jordan could be overwhelmed.  They have no oil and the army is small.  Good but small.

Well it looks like we will be leaving some hardware in Jordan after a training exercise there wraps up.  That should help the Jordanians out a bit

As the United States prepares to supply Syrian rebels with small arms through a CIA-run program, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel said Saturday that U.S. troops temporarily in neighboring Jordan will leave behind fighter jets and a cache of Patriot missiles.

So far the White House has committed only to supplying rebel forces with small arms and ammunition, following confirmation that the regime of Syria President Bashar al-Assad's has been using chemical weapons in the 2-year-long civil war in which at least 90,000 people have been killed.

Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain and other Capitol Hill military hawks have called for much heavier arms including the Patriot defense missiles and for the United States to enforce a no-fly zone over Syria.

However, the Pentagon made clear Saturday the detachment of missiles and F-16s was brought to Jordan as part an annual, multi-nation military exercise called Eager Lion and will remain there only at the request of the country leaders, when the exercise ends next week.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/06/15/cia-will-lead-us-effort-to-arm-train-syrian-rebel-forces-fox-confirms/?test=latestnews#ixzz2WOpiDxj1

[Centurion40]

I worry about Jordan.

Here we have Queen Rania of Jordan:



She lives in the middle of this:





I worry about her future.

[Airborne Rifles]

Part of the issue is safeguarding the Kingdom of Jordan.  They are one of our best allies in the region, and have good relations with Israel.
Right now they are awash in refugees, and if the fighting in Syria spills over, the state of Jordan could be overwhelmed.  They have no oil and the army is small.  Good but small.

I worked with a Jordanian battalion when I was in Haiti in 2010.  They were good disciplined soldiers, better than the Brazillians we were working with.  I seem to recall Jordan has always been a force of moderation among the Arab states.

[Mr. Bigglesworth]

Then lets get the UN to put Syria under Jordanian control.

[Airborne Rifles]

I don't know how the Jordanians would feel about that...

[Staggerwing]

Then lets get the UN to put Syria under Jordanian control.

I don't know how the Jordanians would feel about that...

Yeah, talk about being handed a moldy turd and being told it was really a delicious eclair in disguise...  ???

[Centurion40]

The Jordanian experience with Palestine in the 1950s, 60s and 70s (Black September, anyone?) would be enough to sour them on any plans to resurrect their Greater Syria Plan.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_September_in_Jordan

[Centurion40]

Part of the issue is safeguarding the Kingdom of Jordan.  They are one of our best allies in the region, and have good relations with Israel.
Right now they are awash in refugees, and if the fighting in Syria spills over, the state of Jordan could be overwhelmed.  They have no oil and the army is small.  Good but small.

I worked with a Jordanian battalion when I was in Haiti in 2010.  They were good disciplined soldiers, better than the Brazillians we were working with.  I seem to recall Jordan has always been a force of moderation among the Arab states.

Good to know about the Jordanian troops.  FYI, it's only been in the past couple of decades that Jordan has been a moderating force.

[GDS_Starfury]

IIRC they were kind of strong armed into the Yom Kippur War.