Why Is The US Fighting Assad In Syria?

ISIS slices nine youths with chainsaw in Mosul
http://www.iraqinews.com/iraq-war/isis-slices-nine-youth-with-chinsaw-mosul/

But Israeli think-tank thinks ISIS could be useful. (cynical)

Powerful Images Show Life Through The Eyes Of A Syrian Refugee
http://truththeory.com/2016/08/31/powerful-images-show-life-through-the-eyes-of-a-syrian-refugee/

Other than that the Tea Party hasn't gone around jailing, torturing and murdering people for many years, I guess.



Assad's regime was jailing, torturing and murdering its citizens years before this war ever started. That was why the revolt against it started in the first place.

Every time anyone in this thread points these basic facts out to you, your only response is whataboutism: what about all the bad things the US did? Which doesn't change a thing about the murderous character of Assad's regime.

More refugees from Syria fled from Assad's troops than from ISIS. His regime has killed more people than ISIS (or the rebels). That's why there cannot be any peace with Assad in charge, as you suggest.

You're wasting your time. Americans never let their ignorance of a topic get in the way of having a strong opinion. It's all black and white, Assad was bad, now IS is bad so Assad is good and the ordinary Syrians will just do what the good people of America decide.

When Cobbler used Assad's electoral results as proof of his overall popularity I knew it was time to bail out. Ceausescu "won" every single election but he was still shot in a muddy field after a brief show trial.

There are numerous teenage gays who have chosen to kill themselves rather than live in the inhospitable world created by the hypocritical tea party.

Suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death among young people ages 10 to 24.
• Suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death among young people ages 10 to 24. [1]
• The rate of suicide attempts is 4 times greater for LGB youth and 2 times greater for questioning youth than that of straight youth. [2]
• Suicide attempts by LGB youth and questioning youth are 4 to 6 times more likely to result in injury, poisoning, or overdose that requires treatment from a doctor or nurse, compared to their straight peers. [2]
• Nearly half of young transgender people have seriously thought about taking their lives, and one quarter report having made a suicide attempt. [3]
• LGB youth who come from highly rejecting families are 8.4 times as likely to have attempted suicide as LGB peers who reported no or low levels of family rejection. [4]
• 1 out of 6 students nationwide (grades 9-12) seriously considered suicide in the past year. [5]
• Each episode of LGBT victimization, such as physical or verbal harassment or abuse, increases the likelihood of self-harming behavior by 2.5 times on average. [6]

Comment
You might as well just hang teens like they do in Iran huh? (cynical)

Every day in the news a Christian religious tea party zealot attributes some fault in the world to homosexuals or suggests murder for gays...

Some terrorists are subtle, some are right in your face yet it is still terror regardless of the ruthless and hateful tactic.

Anti Gay Pastors
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/news/anti-gay-pastors/

We put Saddam in jail, we murdered him and we tortured his people...



Can you please explain the difference?

Sorry, of course Americans are the real victims here not the Syrians, having to deal with the tea party and whatnot, the poor lambs.

Yes, our cites have been bombed to rubble by the terrible Syrians please cry for poor poor America... (cynical)

Two wrongs don't make a right just because the Tea Party hide there evil does not make them lambs.

You imply that because the some terrorists are more evil that the lesser evil which is just a devastating should be sanctioned?

Anyone terrorized is a victim, be it self proclaimed "royal" colonialists in England being bombed by Hitler or Syrians.

Lest we not forget where the tea party stole their name...

Comparing the plight of the Syrians to Americans isn't just wrong, it's offensive.

This shows how messed up your thinking is. Where did these "colonialists" come from?

Ultimately, I do. But I don't believe that Assad was voted in by the people of Syria because I want to believe it. I believe it because it happens to be true. Your statement that the election was held only in an area he controlled was incorrect. In fact, Syrian expatriates in other countries rushed to vote for Assad.

And yeah, the FSA are a bunch of ******* animals.

I bet Putin loves you.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syrian_presidential_election,_2014

Red herring much?

Actually, it's the Syrian voters who give legitimacy to their elections. They don't need Western endorsement. Syrian expatriates (refugees) voted for Assad. Something illegitimate about that?

The Tea Party has had profoundly harmful results. I agree with that. But you cannot equate it with a dictatorial regime that has murdered, tortured, maimed and jailed hundreds of thousands of people.

The rest of your comment is exactly the thing that I said you've always done in this thread when people brought up the Assad regime's crimes against humanity: whataboutism. So you're just proving my point here. Yes, the US has done horrifying things too. And? That doesn't change anything about the Assad's regime's atrocities, nor about how those atrocities mean that there can be no peace with him as ruler.

You actually come quite close to realising the logic of why this would be so ... It's just that you don't seem to want to acknowledge it when it goes the other way. I mean, you write this, right:



Okay. Let's take this statement as given, instead of arguing about its merits. Now do you believe there could be peace in Iraq under the leadership of the US? After they did all that you say they did? No, right? A force that jailed, murdered and tortured the country's people... It cannot then preside over its peace. Too many people whose lives were destroyed by it will never accept it. Okay. Well, then the same goes for Assad. With the help of foreign troops (from Iran, Hizbollah), he jailed, tortured and murdered untold thousands of people. So if you'd agree that the US could never preside over peace in Iraq after they did what you said they did, at some level, you must understand why the same goes for Assad.

Exactly. So why do you keep insisting on going on about endless, unrelated US crimes whenever anyone brings up Assad's? Two wrongs don't make a right, so how do the US's crimes against humanity make Assad's any less bad?



No, that's what you are doing. You're the one who's arguing that Assad's terrorism should be sanctioned, by leaving him in the leadership, because you think the US etc are worse.



Yep. And this includes all Syrian victims of terrorism - those of ISIS, of Al-Nusra and the rebels, and those of Assad's state terror. As it happens, the number of casualties from Assad's regime terror is easily the highest of them. That's why there can't be peace under Assad.

Read the article. As well as the condemnation from international organisations the vote was boycotted by the opposition. There's no way it can be viewed as legitimate.

End of.

From your article:

However, an international delegation led by allies of Assad from more than 30 countries including Bolivia, Brazil, Cuba, Ecuador, India, Iran, Iraq, Nicaragua, Russia, South Africa and Venezuela issued a statement claiming the election was "free, fair and transparent".

Refugees turned out to vote for Assad. What does that mean?

Two wrong don't make America and our allies the righteous judge.

We have done the same to win wars.

So let's point a finger at others who did the same let's depose them on the principle of the same wrongs committed by our congresses and military etc...?

We left George Bush who sanctioned torture 'til the end of his term and he has never even faced any trial or scrutiny that we have leveled at Assad. What about the innocent Iraqis and Syrians caught in our gunfire? TORTURE!

What about the human shields we blew up to obtain our goals?

This is the same thing Assad faced to protect the sovereignty of his country?

It is okay for hillbilly US aircraft pilots to blow up a bunch of Iraqis while yahooing about it but Assad needs to face punishment right?

Assad's trail of death is eclipsed 100 times over by that of the US and our allies! Where is your outrage over that??? Please explain your double standard???

Two wrongs don't make a right and our wrongs eclipse that of Assad.

Assad has used the exact same justification for his war that we use in the US.

The exact same justification Saddam used for gassing the Kurds, protecting his people from hostile invading adversaries. I support the Kurds too but not when they themselves resort to terror! And that is what they did, Saddam just carried a bigger stick! A stick we sold to him!

Saddam's enemies were at his gates our enemies are half a world away.

And by the way I wholly supported the Iraq war so I am complicit too, I was a republican back then and voted for John McCain before I woke the hell up.

I support taking out ISIL too but I do not think Assad has been any more barbaric than the US in his pursuit to protect his sovereignty.

There is a saying, "all is fair in love and war" and both sides are guilty in using this rational at one time or another.

Assad must pay for his crimes? Then should the US and our allies, how about that?

Our crimes are much greater.

US contractors who simply used BILLIONS in American tax dollars to defraud the people and make a killing literally!

Where is the accountability on our side if we are going to meter out judgment on others?

I don't pretend to know a lot about this war in Syria but you have still not given me a reason to think our war with Assad is justified. If our purpose is spreading democracy in the Middle East then I say that is a bunch of Arab spring ******* crap!

Take out ISIL yes! Assad? Still not convinced. Putin I hate the man and have for many years even when Bush was President I hated Putin. But not enough to go along with this war against Assad. I think this money is better spent at home on cyber security and anti-terrorism countermeasures. Secular education, science and improving living standards which would make us the envy of the world rather than the homeless prison population racist capitol of the world! Currently I am ashamed of the Trumpism and hate spewing out of the American terrorist right wing.

Trump has put our country in the crapper and we are not in a position to meter out justice to a world who is less guilty of our own crimes.

There is still good left in our country and let's not soil that with a war that is not fully justified. If we can rationalize our own horrid not too distant past then Assad is entitled to the exact same rationale.

I have not been convinced of this Assad war.

Christianity civilized Europe?

Take it for what it is worth. The face of ISIL and many others belong in this lineup too

We are aiding, and arming, groups who agree to fight against Islamic State but not against Assad.

Despite Assad's repugnance to us, we are choosing to NOT go to war against him, because unless we were willing to fully occupy Syria in greater numbers than we ever used in Iraq, we would not be capable of making anything better by warring against Assad.



This entire war is about Assad massacring his own people and the people fighting to stay alive.

If any of these people fall under Assad's power, they will not end up in derelict buildings. They will end up in mass graves.

If we help Assad gain control over these people, we will be helping Assad to massacre them.

The refugees in Europe will not willingly return to Syria if the only future they face there is a mass grave.



I'd rather die than ally with a monster like Assad. We may not be willing to do what is necessary to topple him, but that doesn't mean our souls should be blemished by associating with him.



No. We have not forced Assad out of anywhere. Mr. Obama has been quite strict about not taking any action against Assad.

Islamic State gained access to the region because Assad welcomed them into his country. Assad welcomes them in the hope that they will distract the world from the wholesale massacre that he is perpetrating against the people of his country.

Assad claims to be making strikes against Islamic State, but strangely none of his attacks ever go anywhere near Islamic State. His attacks always focus on the civilians that he is trying to massacre.



We are only arming rebels who promise not to fight against Assad.



If any international body wishes to prosecute Bush for torture, I ask that they also prosecute anyone who has in the past tortured American POWs.



You've been misinformed somehow. We are not making war against Assad.