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A really long explanation of the Syrian problem.

(25 Posts)
NfkDumpling Wed 18-Nov-15 15:29:13

This was shared on my FB page today by a Ali Hassan. There's probably a better way of sharing it with you lot, but I don't know how.

President Assad ( who is bad ) is a nasty guy who got so nasty his people rebelled and the Rebels ( who are good ) started winning ( Hurrah!).
But then some of the rebels turned a bit nasty and are now called Islamic State ( who are definitely bad!) and some continued to support democracy ( who are still good.)

So the Americans ( who are good ) started bombing Islamic State ( who are bad ) and giving arms to the Syrian Rebels ( who are good ) so they could fight Assad ( who is still bad ) which was good.

By the way, there is a breakaway state in the north run by the Kurds who want to fight IS ( which is a good thing ) but the Turkish authorities think they are bad, so we have to say they are bad whilst secretly thinking they're good and giving them guns to fight IS (which is good) but that is another matter.

Getting back to Syria.
So President Putin ( who is bad, cos he invaded Crimea and the Ukraine and killed lots of folks including that nice Russian man in London with polonium poisoned sushi ) has decided to back Assad ( who is still bad ) by attacking IS ( who are also bad ) which is sort of a good thing?
But Putin ( still bad ) thinks the Syrian Rebels ( who are good ) are also bad, and so he bombs them too, much to the annoyance of the Americans ( who are good ) who are busy backing and arming the rebels ( who are also good).

Now Iran ( who used to be bad, but now they have agreed not to build any nuclear weapons and bomb Israel are now good ) are going to provide ground troops to support Assad ( still bad ) as are the Russians ( bad ) who now have ground troops and aircraft in Syria.

So a Coalition of Assad ( still bad ) Putin ( extra bad ) and the Iranians ( good, but in a bad sort of way ) are going to attack IS ( who are bad ) which is a good thing, but also the Syrian Rebels ( who are good ) which is bad.
Now the British ( obviously good, except that nice Mr Corbyn in the corduroy jacket, who is probably bad ) and the Americans ( also good ) cannot attack Assad ( still bad ) for fear of upsetting Putin ( bad ) and Iran ( good / bad) and now they have to accept that Assad might not be that bad after all compared to IS ( who are super bad).

So Assad ( bad ) is now probably good, being better than IS ( but let’s face it, drinking your own wee is better than IS so no real choice there ) and since Putin and Iran are also fighting IS that may now make them Good. America ( still Good ) will find it hard to arm a group of rebels being attacked by the Russians for fear of upsetting Mr Putin ( now good ) and that nice mad Ayatollah in Iran ( also Good ) and so they may be forced to say that the Rebels are now Bad, or at the very least abandon them to their fate. This will lead most of them to flee to Turkey and on to Europe or join IS ( still the only constantly bad group).

To Sunni Muslims, an attack by Shia Muslims ( Assad and Iran ) backed by Russians will be seen as something of a Holy War, and the ranks of IS will now be seen by the Sunnis as the only Jihadis fighting in the Holy War and hence many Muslims will now see IS as Good ( Doh!.)

Sunni Muslims will also see the lack of action by Britain and America in support of their Sunni rebel brothers as something of a betrayal ( mmm.might have a point.) and hence we will be seen as Bad.

So now we have America ( now bad ) and Britain ( also bad ) providing limited support to Sunni Rebels ( bad ) many of whom are looking to IS ( Good / bad ) for support against Assad ( now good ) who, along with Iran ( also Good) and Putin ( also, now, unbelievably, Good ) are attempting to retake the country Assad used to run before all this started?

So now you understand everything's!

M0nica Wed 18-Nov-15 15:49:55

Now I understand!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ana Wed 18-Nov-15 15:54:11

That's wonderful! grin

rosesarered Wed 18-Nov-15 16:03:28

I don't know about clearing things up, am more confused than ever!grin

merlotgran Wed 18-Nov-15 16:23:44

Excellent!!! grin

tanith Wed 18-Nov-15 16:26:08

I found this utube video explained things quite well..

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cgi9tz3IZWQ

hildajenniJ Wed 18-Nov-15 17:57:35

Well! That's all as clear as mud.

And I thought I understood all this. confused

POGS Wed 18-Nov-15 18:16:38

Interesting but not altogether factual though is it.

Some of the good rebels have turned bad but they 'joined' up with Islamic State fighters who are through out the Levant and moved from Iraq etc. into Syria because the country was so ripe for the picking.

We do not 'secretly' think the Kurds are bad . There has recently been coalition assistance with helping the Kurds retake Mosul and Sinjar. Coalition troops including British service personnel are helping with training. Turkey has always been at logger heads with the Kurds PKK/Peshmerga but for now the coalition realises the ' bravery of the men / women / children ' who are taking on IS and better off on their side. If only others joined them to fight IS! So they are the 'good guys' for the moment confused

Putin whilst he did start off bombing 'the good' Syrian rebels has since joined in with the other nations to push back/destroy IS in Syria. The G20 in Antalya seems to be a change of direction, at least it appears that way but time will tell. Russia and China have always vetoed the UN resolution for Syria but he does still favour Assad being in charge. Like others he is probably thinking Russia is as expoised to IS as everybody else so will join the coalition for the time being. Not a man to trust however.

Iran is big crock of shit that will do what it wants to do but needs to wake up to IS as it does not have any intention of being friends with anyone, it wants the Caliphate and will take over any country in it's sight.

As for Assad et al, spot on.

A good post NfkDumpling , takes some reading but worth it.

soontobe Wed 18-Nov-15 18:26:08

Can I say that a lot of the ordinary Iranian people do not[or didnt] like their own Government. So I always feel a bit sorry for them.

petra Wed 18-Nov-15 20:04:05

Re.OP. If it wasn't so serious, it's almost Monty Python.

NfkDumpling Wed 18-Nov-15 20:06:12

It really shows the stupidity and futility of it all. Power corrupting.

What I really hate is the feeling that it's all just a game by those in power.

Anya Wed 18-Nov-15 23:23:25

So it's really a update of the Good, the Bad and the Ugly?

durhamjen Wed 18-Nov-15 23:27:59

NFK, that sounds like me trying to explain goodies and baddies to my 13 year old grandson. I usually give up half way through though, knowing he will ask the same questions the next day when he reads more in the paper.

NfkDumpling Thu 19-Nov-15 07:56:10

Completely Monty Python petra. With a smattering of James Bond and a few computer war games thrown in for good measure. It would be laughable if it wasn't so terribly, horrifically real.

Stansgran Thu 19-Nov-15 08:15:53

Op it's put everything into perspective. Thank you for that.

claireseptember Thu 19-Nov-15 10:35:44

Excellent and bonkers. Would be funny if it weren't for the fact that all sides, the good, the bad and the ugly, are all dealing death and destruction upon innocent civilians as well as upon warmongering and naive teenage 'soldiers'. Wish an international peace conference were possible....

friends123 Thu 19-Nov-15 10:58:57

Excellent comments/discussion. Is there a UN out there I wonder?

tigger Thu 19-Nov-15 11:25:23

What a mess! And if or when it's all sorted out, then what?

Annegranny2 Thu 19-Nov-15 12:45:22

Very complicated for me to get my head around. To be honest, I still don't understand it apart from the fact its totally horrific. One thing strikes me most of all, its all about men! Always has been with war, borders, money, power etc. What's wrong with them all. I used to wish I was a man but now quite grateful I settled for the simple things in life, like making a nice stew and having the family round for dinner.

grandmaSue1 Thu 19-Nov-15 12:57:23

Well done to attempt to help others understand a complicated but very serious issue affecting us all. Last year when Charlie Hebdo was attacked I was taken aback by some comments suggesting that because their cartoons set out to deliberately offend, (isn't that the nature of satire- to expose and shine a light on bigotry and assumed shared values?) that they in some way deserved those terrible deaths. Let us be quite clear that IS does not discriminate, as was amply and tragically demonstrated by last Friday's massacre in Paris.
Having more time now to read the papers, I wrote something to help my children understand the background to these events. It is surely incumbent on us all to get to grips with these deadly issues.

nannypink1 Thu 19-Nov-15 15:32:20

It's not all men though is it? There was a woman involved in the January Paris Charlie Hebdo incident and she went god knows where. Another suicide woman blew herself up yesterday in Paris. Women r involved too in these atrocities.

Luckygirl Thu 19-Nov-15 15:35:57

My brain hurts! What a b****y mess. sad

Most of us, wherever we are in the world and whatever our beliefs, just want to get on with living peaceful lives and loving our family and friends; but the mad power-crazy minority wreck it for everyone.

grandmac Thu 19-Nov-15 16:29:35

That is an good explanation, although maybe not completely accurate in all its parts. But as a guide to who is involved and how we got to where we are it is correct.

Just to add that most Iranians are very peaceable and peace loving people and Iran/Persia has not initiated a war in many hundreds of years. And they are now attacking IS with air strikes and ground troops so can, I think, be considered as being in the 'good' camp.

rosesarered Thu 19-Nov-15 16:59:16

Like all animals, war is about territory, that is why it will never stop.Some things are worth fighting for more than others, and getting rid of ISIS or reducing them to insignificant numbers, is one of them.

thatbags Thu 19-Nov-15 17:08:32

Here is a review of a book about what --Isis-- Daesh is. It is clear from this article that no-one really understands what makes Daesh supporters tick. It's quite a long read but worth it, I think.