Jeff Klinzman June 17, 2013 at 06:58 pm
The US has no business involving itself in Syria, but President Obama has put US credibility at…Read More stake by declaring the use of chemical weapons as a red line the Assad regime dare not cross. However, the writer's crude analysis overlooks that the Syrian opposition is NOT dominated by Al Qaeda. But, what can we expect from a writer whose thinking is so crude he lumps the Stalin regime, Mussolini's Italy, and the FDR administration together under the broad, useless term "progressive?" If the writer had bothered to read the NY Times article more carefully, he would have noticed subtleties which his crude approach cannot apprehend:
"The video (of Qaeda fighters), posted on YouTube, is one more bit of evidence that Al Qaeda and other Islamic extremists are doing their best to hijack the Syrian revolution, with a growing although still limited success that has American intelligence officials publicly concerned, and Iraqi officials next door openly alarmed.
"Since the start of the uprising, the Syrian government has sought to depict the opposition as dominated by Al Qaeda and jihadist allies, something the opposition has denied and independent observers said just was not true at the time. The uprising began as a peaceful protest movement and slowly turned into an armed battle in response to the government’s use of overwhelming lethal force.
"For the moment, though, the mainstream Syrian opposition is nearly uniform in its opposition to a role for Al Qaeda in its popular uprising.
“'Every now and then, we hear about Al Qaeda in Syria, but there is so far no material evidence that they are here,' said Samir Nachar, a member of the executive bureau of the Syrian National Congress. 'The regime has talked about it, and there were political statements from the Iraqi government that Al Qaeda has moved from Iraq to Syria, but on the ground there is no information on the presence of foreign fighters.'
"In hard-pressed Deir Ezzor in eastern Syria, not far from the Iraqi border, a Free Syrian Army brigade leader, identified only as Sayid, said in an interview by Skype that he had heard rumors about Qaeda fighters, but had never actually seen one. In Deir Ezzor earlier this year, a massive truck bomb exploded near a military base — which the resistance attributed to the Assad regime, claiming it had bombed itself."
Rick Langel June 17, 2013 at 11:42 pm
Sigh. Jeff claims: "However, the writer's crude analysis overlooks that the Syrian opposition…Read More is NOT dominated by Al Qaeda." I never said any such thing. I only stated the rebels have declared loyalty to al qaeda. Jeff does the typical thing when attacking arguments like mine, in that he tries to reframe what was actually said to be what he wants to argue against, because he knows the actual facts go against his claims.
For example, Jeff ignores the fact that the NY Times has been wrong previously in their assessments of who the rebels are in Libya and Egypt, and they tend to take the administration's claims at face value about things like this. The truth is that the rebels in Syria ARE associated with al qaeda, as well as the Muslim Brotherhood. That is who they are now, the movement started with protests of regular Syrians, but the average Syrian is not armed or trained as the current al qaeda affiliated rebels are. The Syrian National Congress, of whom you quotes, is the rebirth of the Muslim Brotherhood in Syria. http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2012-05-12/world/35457454_1_syrian-national-council-syrian-muslim-brotherhood-hama
And we know that the Muslim Brotherhood spawned al qaeda. So Jeff, your claims are just plain wrong and uninformed.
Rick Langel June 17, 2013 at 11:43 pm
Cheekybrad, we are there because this administration is supporting any Muslim Brotherhood related…Read More rebellion, and only those.
Rick Langel June 17, 2013 at 07:01 am
Oh Jeff, like most arm chair quarterbacks, you think you know everything, but a close examination…Read More always reveals that you're just talking out of your backside.
Boards
All Boards » Julia Ziesman June 12, 2013 at 10:28 pm
Could one of the reasons for the population loss in rural Iowa be the lack of decent paying jobs?…Read More There are large portions of rural Iowa where there are minimum wage jobs without benefits.
Wal-Mart has replaced many small businesses in rural counties. Many of their workers need welfare to survive. The welfare programs that Wal-Mart workers rely on include Medicaid, subsidized housing and food assistance. Meanwhile Wal-Mart and other corporations are setting records for corporate profits. A May 2013 report “The Low-Wage Drag on Our Economy: Wal-Mart’s Low Wages and Their Effect on Taxpayers and Economic Growth” shows how their business model exerts downward pressure on wages.
Should we continue to support a created taxpayer-funded social welfare program by corporations? Raising the minimum wage could help alleviate those programs.
Maria Houser Conzemius June 13, 2013 at 11:14 am
Julia Ziesman, I boycott Walmart for the reasons you listed. American taxpayers subsidize Walmart's…Read More low wages and poor benefits with $2.1 billion a year. Collectively, Sam Walton's heirs contributed a whole $6,000 to charity.
I looked up the three class-action lawsuits against Walmart that I knew about and found 71. Many lawsuits against Walmart are to try to make courts enforce their many rulings against Walmart.
I was really upset when the U.S. Supreme Court refused to allow Walmart women workers' lawsuit against Walmart to proceed as a class-action lawsuit.
The lawsuit that shocked me the most was that of a 33-year-old handicapped woman in a wheelchair who wouldn't believe that Walmart had shaved her time card hours in order to pay her less than the pitiful hourly wage she should have earned. Her lawyers had to produce documents to prove to her that Walmart was really that unethical.
Anra Toenail May 23, 2013 at 01:56 pm
<3 I have a beautiful cousin! Happy birthday bebe girl!! Love you!
Waukee Traffic: Several Intersections of Hickman Road Will Be Affected by…
See which intersections will be affected by the road work taking place on June 18.
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