Syria reported to have use Chemical Warfare

[Cain]

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[Junkenstein]

Here's a fun thought: would US aid to Syrian rebels constitute material support of designated terrorist organizations?  Even by John Kerry's laughably low estimate, 1 in 6 to 1 in 4 fighters in Syria are affiliated with al-Nusra.

No. When you sell them the arms, you are supporting a legitimate struggle for positive democratic change.

This applies anywhere you sell arms.

[Suu]

http://www.military.com/daily-news/2013/09/07/france-backs-off-support-for-syrian-strike.html

France just did what France does best. Needless to say, if the US does this, they're going in on their own. Someone just said that we went into Bosnia for less, but I'm pretty sure we had some sort of proof that Serbia was committing genocide. Serbia also didn't have Iran standing behind them. Not that we "fixed" the Balkans, either. I'm sure Cain can probably help clarify that for me though.

[Junkenstein]

My guess would be that this is a continuation of the proxy setup.

Saudi Arabia and Israel seem to be trying to keep their hands as clean as possible (A big win for Israel, as it's a world leader in Drone Exports) by pushing US action. France would just be being sensible here really. Why have your own boots on the ground first when US ones can take the literal and metaphorical flak. Better to be seen as "peacekeepers" and "Democratic advisor" after the anti-US sentiment becomes too much (read bloody) to deal with.

There's also the angle that France "stalling" allows the US to keep playing for time. No one wants to go there, it's just inevitable. What's guaranteed is that the first nation to go will wish it hadn't within 2 years. 

[Cramulus]

My god, they're putting the band back together.

"Academi"? man, they are burning through branding! 

[Suu]

My guess would be that this is a continuation of the proxy setup.

Saudi Arabia and Israel seem to be trying to keep their hands as clean as possible (A big win for Israel, as it's a world leader in Drone Exports) by pushing US action. France would just be being sensible here really. Why have your own boots on the ground first when US ones can take the literal and metaphorical flak. Better to be seen as "peacekeepers" and "Democratic advisor" after the anti-US sentiment becomes too much (read bloody) to deal with.

There's also the angle that France "stalling" allows the US to keep playing for time. No one wants to go there, it's just inevitable. What's guaranteed is that the first nation to go will wish it hadn't within 2 years.

Wehttp://createdbyrcw.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/admiral_ackbar_says_its_a_trap.jpg

[Junkenstein]

[Suu]

[Cain]

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[The Good Reverend Roger]

I'm not sure what the French are thinking...maybe the UK vote plus Germany has caused concern among their elites.  But did anyone else catch this by Obama:

"I did not put this before Congress just as a political ploy or as symbolism," Obama said. "I put it before Congress because I could not honestly claim that the threat posed by Assad's use of chemical weapons on innocent civilians and women and children posed an imminent, direct threat to the United States."

"In that situation, obviously, I don't worry about Congress," Obama said. "We do what we have to do to keep the American people safe."

Hey, Mr Constitutional Scholar, remember this?

The Congress shall have power To...To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water; [...] To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions.

Sound familiar?  I mean, it's only Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution.  Very obscure, apparently.

Hail fuckin' Caesar.

[Cain]

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[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

Yeah.  This song and dance was old under Bush and Clinton, but at least people went through the motions of pretending to disagree. 

Now, no-one gives a fuck.  And people wonder why the Man on a White Horse scenario is the one I predict for the US future.

I don't think it's that no one gives a fuck. I think it's that we're all so busy being spied on by our own government, being homeless, having our reproductive rights trampled, and dying of preventable diseases because we can't afford healthcare that it just feels hopeless to protest.

[Cramulus]

On tumblr, I've seen infographics which convey

SYRIA IS JUST A DISTRACTION FROM WHAT THE NSA IS DOING

and in other places,

THE NSA NEWS IS JUST A DISTRACTION FROM WHAT'S REALLY GOING ON IN SYRIA

[Lord Cataplanga]

Yeah.  This song and dance was old under Bush and Clinton, but at least people went through the motions of pretending to disagree. 

Now, no-one gives a fuck.  And people wonder why the Man on a White Horse scenario is the one I predict for the US future.

I don't think it's that no one gives a fuck. I think it's that we're all so busy being spied on by our own government, being homeless, having our reproductive rights trampled, and dying of preventable diseases because we can't afford healthcare that it just feels hopeless to protest.

That's silly. If those kind of problems made people feel too overwhelmed to protest, then the entire world would be full of hopeless people who barely protest.

[Q. G. Pennyworth]

On tumblr, I've seen infographics which convey

SYRIA IS JUST A DISTRACTION FROM WHAT THE NSA IS DOING

and in other places,

THE NSA NEWS IS JUST A DISTRACTION FROM WHAT'S REALLY GOING ON IN SYRIA

While I'm sure I'm not unbiased, "the NSA is a distraction from Syria" seems pretty far fetched, since Obama and the rest of the government are losing a lot more face over having a shitty spy program that is breaking all the laws and got caught because they can't figure out basic security holes.