M14 Forum

jim-analog

Greetings,

I've been trying to follow the siege of Homs Syria since the uprising and crackdown started. It's a pretty awful situation there, particularly for non-combatants. BBC has had pretty good coverage and in an interview the other week I heard a very telling statement. The fellow talking was one of the "rebels" fighting against Assads' army, with the gist of the conversation being him wondering/asking if any kind of assistance from the outside would come. He stated (I'm paraphrasing here) that the rebels fighting with rifles and Molotovs were no match for the governments tanks and artillery. So it doesn't seem the "rebels" have much of a chance to end this, let alone "win".

Far as I know, the city is completely cut off from any external aid, water, food, etc. Civilians are being targeted both directly and indirectly (CNN reports over a hundred killed yesterday, somewhere over 9000 so far). I don't know if is even possible for anyone to get out of the town if they wanted to. A very depressing situation.

How would one stay alive?

Edit to add: PS............I should have used the term opposition rather than rebel. Rebel has a negative connotation that was not my intent.

Regards, Jim

CharlieEcho

I'm sometimes hesitant to post news from NYT, but it comes from my emails in the morning brief of Foreign Policy magazine. The fighting in Syria has to have Iran off balance. Probably buying time for Israel. It doesn't look good in the Mid. East so if the rebels can hold out for a while longer.
http://campaign.r20.constantcontact....igKIrkfw%3D%3D

"On Tuesday, meanwhile, China, Iran, and Russia all expressed support for the Syrian government. Russia says it's working with all sides in the conflict to ensure safe passage for humanitarian convoys, while the Red Cross is meeting with Syria's main opposition group in Geneva."
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/22/wo..._r=1&ref=world

tmcfalls

The use of any form of the name Russia and the word humanitarian in the same paragraph should draw laughter world wide.

huntinghawk

Don't have enough info about the city to make a statement on how to survive within the city.

Probably the only hope for those inside the city is more rebels come to their aid from outside the city attacking or terrorizing Assad's army.

HH

Swamp Rat

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warsaw_Ghetto_Uprising

oldflyboy

Humanitarian aid will be permitted by Syria when most of the 'rebels' are dead and no longer a threat.

Swamp Rat

Makes you wonder why the Iranians sent naval vessels there with all the commotion.

tmcfalls

I am sure they were on a humanitarian mission as well. If not known for anything else, Iran is famous for its humanitarianism, which ranks only slightly above its women's rights platform and its strong support for gay rights.

GeneCo

IMO, in order to make informed decisions about this, we must understand exactly what's happening over there.


This all started when some college students put up some anti govt graffitti and the govt tortured the students, so citizens took to the streets and the govt cracked down on the protests and more folks took to the streets amd more govt crackdown, to include tanks and weapons now.


Iraqi's Al Qaeda has been involved and are responsible for some of the bombings, to reprise their role from a Arab Spring uprising a year ago.


Dr Assad inherited the role of dictator from his Dad and is leader of the Ba'ath party, who has little regard for human rights and democracy and he hates Israel and the Western world. He believes this is all foreign intervention, Iran, Russia and N. Korea agree.

Syria is all Islamic, but the majority of Syrians are Sunni, while the controlling center, including the military is Alawite. while both are Islam, they have distinct political differences.

What Syria is experiencing is a civil war, with alot of Sunni citizens wanting democracy ( but mainly to get rid of the dictatorship and minority Ba'ath party).

Of course, Syria's neighbors want to weigh in, as they see this as an opportunity to gain access to Syrian control and resources.

The UN has passed non binding resolutions and the WH wants to arm the citizen ( and much defected military)opposition. Iran and Russia warn the US to not get involved and have sent warships. This is very tense right now.



So to answer the question, of how to survive this, simply BO of Homs and not get involved. This is much like some riots in the USA, you simply avoid the area and wait for it to settle.

AFa the daily life in the ME, like folks in Israel, every day, every action is overshadowed by suicide bombers and terrorist attacks.

Sweets

I thank [insert Deity here] that I don't live in the Middle East. And that they continue to fail to bring the Middle East to me.

Mindfield

This is why the 2A here enumerates the right to Arms and forming Militias, the FF intent was that we be able to arms ourselves with whatever the military has so that we could resist government tyranny. Sadly most have forgotten this and those who havnt most of them balk at the idea as they are good subje..errr citizens who dont understand the 2A.

RandyB45

http://shtfschool.com/

Fighting tanks is a different issue.

54321

I believe there are some good resources written by people who went through the mess in Sarajevo in the early 90s.


Found this.

http://www.friends-partners.org/bosnia/surintro.html

LausDeo

Russia, China and Iran back the sitting regime, and Al-Qaeda backs the other. Why were we calling for cease fire again? As long as they keep killing each other, we're gaining from this. As soon as the regime puts down the opposition or the rebels win and "democratically" elect an Islamic radical majority (which is exactly what Egypt did), we've got yet another problem on our hands, and so does Israel. BOTH sides of every civil conflict in the Middle East is anti-Israel, dictators are just less willing to risk everything to fight Israel.

Democracy sucks anyways. That's why we have a Constitutional Republic.

“It had been observed that a pure democracy if it were practicable would be the most perfect government. Experience had proved that no position is more false than this. The ancient democracies in which the people themselves deliberated never possessed one good feature of government. Their very character was tyranny; their figure deformity.”
Alexander Hamilton June 21, 1788

John Adams: Democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide.

James Madison: Democracies have ever been spectacles of turbulence and contention; have ever been found incompatible with personal security or the rights of property; and have in general been as short in their lives as they have been violent in their death.

Sorry... I have a tendency to go on anti-democracy rants. It drives me nuts when people clamor for "democracy", not knowing what they are really advocating. Not saying anyone here is making the mistake, of course

Mindfield

which is why i correct anyone who says were a democracy etc, NO we are a REPUBLIC