I have a horrible feeling....

I would like to think that I have nothing in common with the likes of Assad, Cameron, Putin et al.

 

I believe that the first step in conflict resolution is to find common ground and understand why the differences exist.

Rather than insisting I have nothing in common with those people you mention, thus immediately putting me in opposition to them, I might first ask if they, like me, are motivated by things like a desire to ensure the wellbeing of close family and loved ones, and a desire to see my home country thrive. The differences exist in the details of the implementation of those motives. So my next step would be to understand why those differences exist. Who knows, maybe then, if both sides were talking, each could find a way to achieve their goals without having to come into conflict with anybody.

 

You believe that it would be possible to negotiate a peace with a regime that has no qualms about unleashing chemical weapons on innocent civilians? That we could maybe wipe the slate clean? That the war crimes and human rights abuses should be ignored? These did not start with the civil war - Syria has over 100 000 political prisoners.

 

We sell weapons to Saudi Arabia. We also allow them to build petrochemical plants on our soil so they can capitalise on our abundance of good engineers.

Nobody is talking about wiping the slate clean.

I'm talking about find a way to move on.

Korea suffered horribly at the hands of the Japanese. There is still anti Japanese sentiment there. They have not forgiven or forgotten but they've moved on. South Korea alone could probably knack Japan now if they wanted to. Instead they've sought common ground. I read bbc news daily, looking at the Asia section. I haven't seen anything yet about South Korea fighting Japan. The north threatens regularly but they don't count because they're a laughing stock. A laughing stock that we haven't interfered with by the way, despite them having internal goings on at least as bad as I Syria.

 

I think that all the none war people should be take out of the country and anybody that wants to play war should all fight togeter with out the modern weapons just swords/spears and bows/arrows and let them get on with it

 

A lot of the conflict in the Middle East has been caused by 2 men. Tony Blair and his master, George W Bush. How the hell they are not in the Hague on trial for war crimes themselves is beyond me.

 

There is lots of talk about the bombing of Aleppo.

It takes two to make a war.

The rebels could pull out or surrender in order to save civilian lives.
They are beat, they just dont know it yet, if the west stopped backing them the war would probably have ended by now.

Bit simplistic, but its how I see it.

 

I'm sorry, please forgive me, but what came instantly into my mind was this.............

We do. Because you and I need cheap oil. In all fairness whilst the Saudis human and civil rights are pretty poor by our standards they're far from the top of the league. And they do have some influence in the region. It is very easy for us "keyboard warriors" to forget that Government is not black and white - decisions have to made that are as much about pragmatism than belief.
The Syrian situation has led to an unprecedented level of mass migration. The British people had their say in the EU referendum and the generally accepted wisdom is that it was the issue of immigration that swung the vote. So we don't want the refugees but we appear not to want to tackle the issue that is causing it either. Going back to Angela Merkel, she grew up under an oppressive regime and took what she believed to be the only morally correct decision knowing the potential political cost (her hands are still tied militarily by the final settlement treaty of WW2 I believe).

Really? I am more worried by North Korea than I am by Russia. Is the world not worried about the likes of Km Jong Un having access to nuclear materials and technology. North Korea is not on the recognised list of state sponsors of terrorism but it appears to be pretty much accepted that they are doing it through the back door via Iran and Syria (who are on the list).
No we haven't interfered there yet. We can only hope that if the need ever arises it will have been better planned that Iraq was.

 

I would argue that it is down to three men - David Lloyd George, Woodrow Wilson and the French president whose name I've forgotten. Their hamfisted division of the Middle East took no account of ethnic/religious identity.
I'm not a defender of the Gulf war but the conflict and general crap stirring that had been happening there for decades (and turned a blind eye too) was a consequence of the treaties signed at the end of WW1.

 

That old chestnut. That's so old, and unsubstantiated. It's a soundbite/headline created by the far left among the remain voters. As far as I'm aware nobody has ever asked a representative sample of leave voters why they voted the way they did. For all you or I know, 51% or more of leave voters might have seen the EU as a collective bribing a nation with very questionable human rights to block refugees by any means necessary, while other EU member states were erecting huge barbed wire fences and firing tear gas at women and kids, and those leave voters might have said to themselves 'when my kids learn about this when they've grown up, and they ask me about it, I don't want to say I voted to be part of it'.

 

This is one of those threads which I really shouldn't get involved in! But I do like to say my bit as you know !!

The last thing we/any other country needs to do is go to war, once the nuclear missiles start then we are all stuffed! Why we/anyone else needs to have a war is beyond me & when we do go to war to 'help' fight do we really make a difference? How many ex soldiers do we have & now support (rightly so) financially because they went to a war zone & got their leg(s) arms blown off or have (understandably) mental health issues because of what they have seen/had to do?

Just for an example have we really made a difference in Syria? We now have a major refugee crisis, look at the state of the place too! I actually believe that if we didn't get involved with some of these wars they would actually Draw to a close much quicker, with us going in with all our kit I feel that we are just poking the lion with a stick so to speak!

I really can't see why we can't just live in a peaceful world. The billions of pounds wasted on war across the world could be spent on much better things, maybe medicines/treatment for the sick & terminally ill & reasearch into cures for terminal illness. That's my view folks *she climbs down off her hobby horse!*

 

You cannot blame long dead politicians. Saddam Hussein, Colonel Gaddaffi AND Assad, had the area under control, no matter HOW bad they were. The blame must lie with Blair, Bush and the other arab states.

 

Actually it was a soundbite created by Farage and his far right nutjobs. There were numerous surveys done before and on the day.
Lord Ashcrofts poll said that for 35% it was the main reason of their no vote, the Mori poll had a figure of nearly 50%.

Why not. As far as I'm aware it a good natured discussion and your views are always welcome.

No danger of Russia or China chucking nukes about. Not so confident when it comes to Iran and even less happy about North Korea. But what really scares me is the likes of Assad brokering a deal for terrorists to get their hands on nuclear material.

We've made no difference in Syria because we never got involved in it. What weaponry and training we have provided has been on such a small scale that it is virtually irrelevant. Our only direct actions have been against Isis militants.

If you can think of a way to ban greed and religion.................

If you call state sponsorship of terrorism having the area under control then yes they did.
The Middle East boundaries were radically changed when the area was divided up amongst the British and the French and it was done without regard for the various religious factions.

 

Just like to say, if it was immigration that swayed the brexit vote, and I think it might have been, it wasn't purely based on refugees from Syria.

It was based on immigration as a whole.

Most of which are not refugees, more economic migrants.