Iraq & Syrian Civil Wars - Page 68

On August 25 2013 18:19 Silvanel wrote:
Anyone speaking Russian care to translate?

On August 23 2013 17:14 Boblion wrote:
There is nothing to gain in Syria for the European countries, except a good pat on the back from Obama. it was always an American affair first. Oh and Israeli, Saoudian, Qatari, Iranian, Iraqi, Lebanian, Turkish, Kurdish and Russian too lol.

On August 25 2013 18:39 WhiteSatin wrote:


they talking about how they found those chemical weapons, and they say that they are made in saudi arabia.
they talk about cables for explosives and such.
field medic says 40 soldiers were affected by the chems.
most of it is description of what they found there

On August 26 2013 02:04 radscorpion9 wrote:
Very happy to see the USA and the UK considering taking strong action against Syria. Even though it took awhile, finally the US and its allies may end Assad's brutal dictatorship and the continued massacre of his own population rising up against him. Its sad to see so many people here believing what Assad has been saying because of some pre-existing bias against the US, but thankfully it won't impact the important decisions being made.

Transition to a democratic government will clearly be painful, but I'm glad that we are helping our fellow human beings work towards this end rather than leaving them to a civil war that could continue to terrorize the entire region for a decade or more. This is a very positive development. Its just depressing that I feel like I'm in the minority in this thread now. Everyone has all these conspiracy theories that the US is behind everything

On August 26 2013 02:34 SilverStar wrote:

You mean when USA / UK presented false evidence and then invaded Iraq killing many civilians in the process?

On August 26 2013 02:27 DeepElemBlues wrote:
I'm not sure what planet it is where people act like the word of Russia is as good as gold and the word US, France, Britain etc. is obviously and automatically never true, but it certainly isn't a planet that's remembered anything of the last 113 years of human history.

On August 25 2013 20:38 gingerfluffmuff wrote:

That. The amount of oil and gas Syria has to offer is just not worth the trouble. Also we have enough troubles with our economy, Europe is not going to war. No politician can afford to get linked with the cost a military operation.

“Of the videos that I’ve seen for the last few hours, none of them show pinpoint pupils… this would indicate exposure to organophosphorus nerve agents,” he said.

Brussels/New York, August 24, 2013 -- Three hospitals in Syria's Damascus governorate that are supported by the international medical humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) have reported to MSF that they received approximately 3,600 patients displaying neurotoxic symptoms in less than three hours on the morning of Wednesday, August 21, 2013. Of those patients, 355 reportedly died.

Since 2012, MSF has built a strong and reliable collaboration with medical networks, hospitals and medical points in the Damascus governorate, and has been providing them with drugs, medical equipment and technical support. Due to significant security risks, MSF staff members have not been able to access the facilities.

“Medical staff working in these facilities provided detailed information to MSF doctors regarding large numbers of patients arriving with symptoms including convulsions, excess saliva, pinpoint pupils, blurred vision and respiratory distress,” said Dr. Bart Janssens, MSF director of operations.

Patients were treated using MSF-supplied atropine, a drug used to treat neurotoxic symptoms. MSF is now trying to replenish the facilities’ empty stocks and provide additional medical supplies and guidance.

“MSF can neither scientifically confirm the cause of these symptoms nor establish who is responsible for the attack,” said Dr. Janssens. “However, the reported symptoms of the patients, in addition to the epidemiological pattern of the events—characterized by the massive influx of patients in a short period of time, the origin of the patients, and the contamination of medical and first aid workers—strongly indicate mass exposure to a neurotoxic agent. This would constitute a violation of international humanitarian law, which absolutely prohibits the use of chemical and biological weapons.”

In addition to 1,600 vials of atropine supplied over recent months, MSF has now dispatched 7,000 additional vials to facilities in the area. Treatment of neurotoxic patients is now being fully integrated into MSF’s medical strategies in all its programs in Syria.

“MSF hopes that independent investigators will be given immediate access to shed light on what happened,” said Christopher Stokes, MSF general director. “This latest attack and subsequent massive medical need come on top of an already catastrophic humanitarian situation, characterised by extreme violence, displacement, and deliberate destruction of medical facilities. In the case of such extreme violations of humanitarian law, humanitarian assistance cannot respond effectively and becomes meaningless itself.”

MSF provides medical assistance in Syria through two different approaches. MSF international and national staff operate six hospitals and four health centers in structures fully under the organization’s direct control in the north of Syria. In areas where MSF cannot send its own teams because of insecurity or lack of access, the organization has expanded a program begun two years ago of supporting Syrian medical networks, hospitals and medical posts, by providing drugs, medical equipment, and technical advice and support. Through the latter program, MSF has been supporting 27 hospitals and 56 medical posts throughout Syria.

From June 2012 through the end of June 2013, MSF teams carried out more than 55,000 medical consultations, 2,800 surgical procedures, and assisted in 1,000 births inside Syria. MSF teams have also provided more than 140,000 consultations for Syrian refugees in neighboring countries.

On August 26 2013 02:54 Nyxisto wrote:
Democracy isn't an export product. It may sound cynic , but all these countries in the middle east actually need to go through this.
The wish to stop the suffering and punish Assad for what he's doing and bringing the people peace and freedom and all that good jazz is obviously very natural, but it won't help in the long run.
Every western country that we now consider free and democratic actually went through decades of bloodshed. The countries that were 'supported' by the west are now no more stable then they were under their despotic dictatorship.

The middle eastern societies are culturally and politically decades behind. Giving them ballot papers will not make them democratic (see: Egypt). If the west is interested in long lasting progress in those countries they need to stop intervening and let Syria figure it out themselves. It won't happen over night, not bei foreign force and it will probably cost a lot of lives but it's probably the only way.