The Deepening Conflict In Syria
http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2012-08-30/deepening-conflict-syria
The conflict in Syria has entered its 18th month with no end in sight. Many now call it a civil war. In a rare television interview yesterday Syrian President Assad said his country was facing a "regional and global war." He indicated the Syrian government would ultimately win. Fighting is occurring across Syria, with some of the heaviest battles in and around Damascus. Thousands of Syrians have been forced to flee. The crush of refugees has risen dramatically this summer. Over the past three months the average number of Syrians fleeing to border nations every day has jumped from 1,000 to 3,000. Diane and her guests talk about the crisis in Syria.
Guests
David Schenker
Aufzien fellow and director of the Arab Politics Program at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and former top policy aide on the Arab countries of the Levant, including Syria, at the Pentagon.
Charity Tooze
senior spokesperson and communication officer for UNHCR, the U.N. Refugee Agency.
Marc Lynch
director of the Institute for Middle East Studies at George Washington University and senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security.
Comments
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Why did the Obama administration start with a non starter that Assad must go when the U.S. says go. Egyptian President Morsi has called for a "contact group" should be resolved through peaceful means, discussion and reconciliation" Morsi said the group should be made up of Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Egypt and Iran. Including Iran would seem he is playing things down the middle. Please discuss President Morsi's suggestion.
Also please discuss how much money, technology that Clinton and team are providing the rebels? Who are the rebels? And can you folks explain why Syrian refugees are getting far more coverage in the U.S. media and why we know how many Syrian refugees there are when Americans have never know how many Iraqi refugees the invasion of Iraq caused.
Folks the best place to go for factual information about the situation with Syria is Flynt and Hillary Mann Leverett's website RACE FOR IRAN and Professor Juan Cole's website INFORMED COMMENT.
Can the woman from UNHCR tell us why we are hearing how many Syrian refugees there are when on the Diane Rehm show they barely ever mentioned the Iraqi refugees that were caused by the U.S. invasion of Iraq. Why is that?
Can UNHCR please tell us how many Iraqi refugees the invasion of Iraq created since Diane and never had you on the show about that issue. Also tell us how many Syrian refugees there are.
Safe zones are not always safe - just ask the people from Srebrenica.
There must be a robust commitment behind these decisions; people have to be physically protected, not legally protected which is what UNHCR provides.
Whoa Diane your panelist are so lop sided and so are you. All I have heard mentioned is more U.S. military involvement in Syria. Not a mention of President Morsi's suggestion for a "contact group" to resolve this situation through peaceful means. Why is that Diane. When will you have Flynt Leverett or Professor Cole on to discuss negotiations through peaceful means?
Jesus Mary and Joseph that guest said the Holocaust museum has said that the Syrian situation has taken on the status of a genocide. Now can he explain why the Holocaust Museum and he would not have placed that same death status on those dead in Iraq that the U.S. is responsible for. When will the Holocaust museum folks call the deaths in Iraq (in the millions) a genocide? what a f---ing sickening double standard. Absolutely sickening.
And Diane when will you ask the UNHCR guest how many refugees the invasion of Iraq created? I an thoroughly disgusted with the Rehm teams choice of guest this morning. Both male guest are pushing for more military action in Syria. Diane is going along. No challenges.
More detail out of the UNHCR guest about Syrian refugees. Never ever did the Rehm team expose this about Iraqi refugees. I am disgusted with your program today
Why does the UNHCR insist on putting Syrian refugees in tents in the desert in Jordan? More than 1 million Iraqi refugees were accepted into Jordan after 2003, but UNHCR never set up refugee camps for them - they were placed in Jordanian communities, given cash assistance, access to education and medical care, partly with U.S. funds. Today, we see that the conditions in the refugee camp Zaatri are so bad, refugees are rioting? The UNHCR should explain why they are warehousing these refugees now.
It absolutely amazes me that we are even considering any overt military action in Syria, considering our Iraq and Afghanistan experiences and the shape of the US economy. Even if every penny allocated to Iraq and Afghanistan were to dry up instantly and be redirected to Syria, adding US deaths /casualties and the potential for collateral Syrian deaths/casualties should be a major argument against being directly involved. The targets available and the status of Syrian air defense obviates use of drones and would make any "allied" air power very risky at best. And any US assault would bring Russia and China, and probably Iran, and maybe Israel, into the fray.
Seems to me that only fans of some Armageddon scenario would welcome US military action. Then again, maybe followers of Pastor Hagee and his ilk are behind such a situation.
Home what did you think about that makeup of the Rehm Team panelist? Did not hear any of them talk about Egyptian President Morsi's suggestion that a "contact group" be formed to negotiate with Syria in a peaceful way. Not a mention. Stacked with go get Assad panelist with Diane just going along. No challenges, no diverging views. No guest on who could provide any opposing views. Diane Rehm team going along with the PNAC's blueprint in the middle east. Just going along. Diane again when will you and your team have Flynt and Hillary Mann Leverett on to share some well educated opposing views? When
I too was appalled by his call for more arms in the region. I have so much apprehension for the number being killed in Syria that I think we will all be absolutely horrified and disappointed in ourselves when (or if) the dust settles.
Completely disagree with Marc Lynch. Assad understands nothing but force. Assad is an Iranian proxy which has been extending their tentacles all over the mideast. The protestors tried the peaceful approach and were tortured and killed for their efforts. Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar are the only ones helping them now with some covert ops coming from the west. Russia and China have exposed themselves for the thugs that everyone suspected they were.