Assad warns Israel against strikes

[moondust]

Source: BBC

Syria's President Bashar al-Assad has warned Israel that it will respond in kind to any future air strikes.

In an interview with a Lebanese TV channel, he said there was "popular pressure" to open a military front against Israel in the Golan Heights.

He also suggested Syria may have received the first shipment of an advanced Russian air defence system.

Israel has warned it would regard the Russian missiles as a serious threat to its security.

Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-22725334

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Ugh.

[jessie04]

1. A threat.

Don't tempt fate, Bashir. The world won't go into mourning if you're not around.

[IthinkThereforeIAM]

2. Says who?

... Bashir is a moderate and secularist. No need for religious extremists in control of any country.

[oberliner]

3. A moderate and secularist

Kind of like the Shah?

[David__77]

5. Kind of like the Shah, yes.

More like Lon Nol.

[jaysunb]

4. Totally agree. n/t

[Sand Wind]

7. A moderate ? Lol. He kill And tortur everyone he can. Like his father.

Its a psychopathe And the main problem at the source of this situation. Also, he Is an ally of a terrorist organisation who kill 241 American servicemen.

[Comrade Grumpy]

11. Ah, the Beirut Marine barracks bombing.

Thanks for the salutary mention of the risks of getting involved in Middle East civil wars.

You know, if the US hadn't been lobbing shells the size of Volkswagens into the mountains behind Beirut...

[Sand Wind]

13. You mean that the terrorist teach you a good lesson...

[pampango]

12. To some, a repressive dictator can be described as a "moderate and a secularist".

The Shah was also 'moderate and a secularist'. He, too, had anyone who got in his way arrested, tortured and often 'disappeared'. I think Carter was right facilitated the Shah's departure from Iran when he was sick. An Iranian civil war between a US-backed faction (perhaps led by the Shah's son or some general) against the religious fundamentalists would have made a bad situation much worse regardless of which side had won.

I am very uncomfortable when liberals offer praise to a dictator because some of his policies are acceptable. Some dictators are better than others. (Heck, some republicans are 'better' than others.) They are still dictators for a reason. They value their own power more than the rights of their people.

[malthaussen]

6. Yeah, right.

Dude is up to his ass in alligators, and he's going to start a war against the wolves? Just what he needs right now.

-- Mal

[DavidDvorkin]

8. Perhaps he thinks that a war with Israel would rally the populace behind him

and force the rebels to call of their uprising.

[John2]

9. Apparently,

none of you have good information what is happening on the ground in Syria right now? Events are moving very fast, and it doesn't look very good for the rebels. They are dying like flies in Syria right now. I wonder how many Americans and British are secretly fighting in Syria? There is also new information, Turkish security forces raided some rebel militant groups in Ankara and discovered them in possession of Sarin. Right now the Russian Foreign minister is demanding the Turkish Government release the details of their raid. Is this seperate from the information about the tear gas incident? There is another report that a Turkish teenager fighting in Syria defected from the opposition and went home. There are also reports scores of rebels are surrendering in Quisar and promising not to pick up arms again, just to get out of that surrounded town. There are a lot of wounded rebels in that area. None of that sounds good for the rebels.

[DavidDvorkin]

10. "There are reports"

Oookay.

[oberliner]

14. "I wonder how many Americans and British are secretly fighting in Syria?"

How many would you estimate?