Syrian army splitting along sectarian lines, report

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ARIDA, Lebanon — The gunfire ricocheted deafeningly across the sloping fields of strawberries, tomatoes, cucumbers and wheat that span the Lebanese-Syrian border along this remote corner of northern Lebanon.

On the Lebanese side of the border, hundreds of people, most of them Syrians who had fled the fighting at home, took cover behind farmhouses and peeked over walls to watch the battle raging just a few hundred yards away, between Syrian troops and unspecified assailants who, the Syrians said, represented “the people” they had left behind.

“The people,” the Syrians said, were attacking a Syrian army post, and in this instance the people seemed to win. Two rocket-propelled grenades exploded near the post with whooshes and ground-shaking blasts, a Syrian army truck burst into flames, and the gunfire temporarily subsided.

Exactly who the people were and how they had acquired arms weren’t made clear, but many of the Syrians watching the fight said Sunni Syrian soldiers had defected that morning and turned against the minority Alawite regime.

“It’s war,” said Mohammed, 19, a student and protester who escaped into Lebanon on Sunday. “Now this is a fight between Sunnis and Alawites.”

On a day when Israeli soldiers killed at least 12 people who had joined protests along Israel’s borders with Lebanon, Syria, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, this barely noticed firefight, far to the north on the Lebanese-Syrian border, threw into sharp relief the danger that the unrest in Syria will escalate into an armed conflict that could engulf the wider region.

Three Lebanese civilians and a soldier were wounded by bullets that strayed into Lebanon during the fighting, and the Lebanese army rushed reinforcements to the border area. Whether there were casualties on the Syrian side of the border was not known.

Hundreds of Syrians have flooded into Lebanon over the past two days, fleeing the latest onslaught aimed at crushing the revolt against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, this one in the town of Tal Kalakh, 1.5 miles from Lebanon.

They came with witness accounts of killings, destruction of homes and mass detention of citizens since Syrian tanks rolled into the town before dawn Saturday. In the distance, the steady crump of Syrian tank fire could be heard. Human rights groups reported seven deaths Sunday, but the refugees described seeing bodies piled up in the streets as they fled, suggesting the toll may be higher.

The refugees also offered insights into the complexities of the battle underway for control of Syria between the Assad regime and the largely leaderless and the mostly unarmed popular protest movement.

How much longer it will remain unarmed is in question, however. Many of the protesters who escaped Sunday said the Syrian army was in the process of splitting along sectarian lines, with Sunni troops joining the opposition against soldiers from the Alawite Shiite sect to which Assad and most members of his regime belong.

“There are two armies now, the army of Maher al-Assad and the army of the people,” said Tal Kalakh resident Radwan, who like others interviewed for this article asked to be identified only by his first name. He was referring to Assad’s brother, who is in charge of the army units that have spearheaded the military crackdown.

The attack on the Syrian army post was waged with the help of the defected soldiers, he said. “We only have the weapons we own for our personal protection,” he said.

The reports of a split in the Syrian army could not be independently confirmed, and they are not the first to emerge during the two-month-old revolt. But none appears to have added up to a significant breach of loyalties that would threaten the regime.

Wardah, 22, a Syrian soldier who deserted and escaped to Lebanon a week ago, said many troops are unhappy with their shoot-to-kill orders. But he seemed doubtful that the army would break with the regime, as it did during the uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt.

“God willing, the army will split,” he said. “But the officers won’t. The officers are loyal to the regime, and they shoot the soldiers if we refuse to shoot the people.”

Shortly after he spoke, a van driven by regime opponents hurtled across the border carrying two Syrian soldiers who the protesters said they had captured. The soldiers, a Sunni and an Alawite, insisted that they had deserted to avoid having to fire on civilians. They were handed over to the Lebanese army.

But even though the protesters insist they don’t carry arms, they live alongside Lebanon, where almost all citizens are armed and where the Sunni-Shiite divide closely mirrors the one in Syria. The mountainous border is loosely guarded, and there have been numerous reports that weapons have been smuggled across in recent weeks.

The Syrians from Tal Kalakh cast the conflict in stark Sunni-Alawite terms, saying the regime has armed Alawite citizens to fight their mostly Sunni townspeople. They said Shiite Iranians, wearing black face masks to disguise their identities, and snipers from the Shiite Lebanese Hezbollah movement are helping the regime.

Although that assertion seems highly unlikely, it points to the broader implications of the Syrian revolt, unfolding in a country that lies at the intersection of most of the region’s conflicts and largely out of view of the world.

WP

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81 responses to “Syrian army splitting along sectarian lines, report”

  1. Hannibal Avatar
    Hannibal

    And it begins… Call it cosmic justice but the Syrian Regime karma is at a low point and ANY invader who EVER touched Lebanon modern or historic ends up paying a hefty price one way or another. You did not read history? You did not heed the wrath of God for touching this holly land? NO it is NOT Palestine that is holly BUT the land of the Cedars is what matters. Read your history books and see what happened to ALL invaders of Lebanon and weep.

  2. And it begins… Call it cosmic justice but the Syrian Regime karma is at a low point and ANY invader who EVER touched Lebanon modern or historic ends up paying a hefty price one way or another. You did not read history? You did not heed the wrath of God for touching this holly land? NO it is NOT Palestine that is holly BUT the land of the Cedars is what matters. Read your history books and see what happened to ALL invaders of Lebanon and weep.

    1. I said it before and I will say it again,wheter you like it or not

      wheter you like Bashar or not,I will guarantee you this he will not go

      anywhere,sooner or later this will end and everything will go back to normal…

      The big powers dont want bashar out….so bashar will stay..Capeesh..if he

      steps down i will be the first to come on here and say i dont know one thing

      bout politcs….

      1. One more thing for all of you who think if this happened in the USA that america would

        sit back and say they have the right to protest, WRONG>>>>they would arrest them and try

        them on one simple word…TREASON….so while you think western nations would allow this dont

        ever think in a million years they would….under 90 percent of americans make less than 30,000 dollars

        a year,gas is 5 dollars a gallon,homless rate is 9 percent of 300 million,and unemployment is 14 percent of

        300 million…why havent these people protested….ill tell u why..TREASON…..and they dont want to go

        to jail for breaching the peace….when terry jones came to michigan and wanted to protest against muslims

        they did not allow him to do it cause they said he will breach the peace and disturb the public,they arrested him,

        now me as a muslim as an american muslim thinks he had every right to speak his mind and preach wht he wants

        thts his american right..thats why we came to america….but this is a perfect example of how freedom of protesting

        is not acceptable in the USA…..Good Day… 

        1. In the U.S of A we settle our scores at election day… unlike barbaric nations like Syria and Iran who kill their own people for speaking up. I can go in the middle of the street and speak against Obama and he won’t touch a hair on my head, as a matter of fact here I am saying it again and again I am NOT voting for Obama and guess what I am still sitting at my desk and I will always be because of the freedom this country gives us, but go say a word against Bashar in Damascus and then try to find your balls… 😛 Check Mate and Good Day to you too…

        2. In the U.S of A we settle our scores at election day… unlike barbaric nations like Syria and Iran who kill their own people for speaking up. I can go in the middle of the street and speak against Obama and he won’t touch a hair on my head, as a matter of fact here I am saying it again and again I am NOT voting for Obama and guess what I am still sitting at my desk and I will always be because of the freedom this country gives us, but go say a word against Bashar in Damascus and then try to find your balls… 😛 Check Mate and Good Day to you too…

        3. In the U.S of A we settle our scores at election day… unlike barbaric nations like Syria and Iran who kill their own people for speaking up. I can go in the middle of the street and speak against Obama and he won’t touch a hair on my head, as a matter of fact here I am saying it again and again I am NOT voting for Obama and guess what I am still sitting at my desk and I will always be because of the freedom this country gives us, but go say a word against Bashar in Damascus and then try to find your balls… 😛 Check Mate and Good Day to you too…

        4. In the U.S of A we settle our scores at election day… unlike barbaric nations like Syria and Iran who kill their own people for speaking up. I can go in the middle of the street and speak against Obama and he won’t touch a hair on my head, as a matter of fact here I am saying it again and again I am NOT voting for Obama and guess what I am still sitting at my desk and I will always be because of the freedom this country gives us, but go say a word against Bashar in Damascus and then try to find your balls… 😛 Check Mate and Good Day to you too…

        5. In the U.S of A we settle our scores at election day… unlike barbaric nations like Syria and Iran who kill their own people for speaking up. I can go in the middle of the street and speak against Obama and he won’t touch a hair on my head, as a matter of fact here I am saying it again and again I am NOT voting for Obama and guess what I am still sitting at my desk and I will always be because of the freedom this country gives us, but go say a word against Bashar in Damascus and then try to find your balls… 😛 Check Mate and Good Day to you too…

        6.  Avatar
          Anonymous

          You are clearly taking a stance on Religion not democracy, you are exactly like Nasrallah. Supporting the Bahraini protests and saying “Help innocent Shi’ites are dying the government is cruel”. Yet not one word for Iranian and Syrian protests, you got to be ashamed my friend. A human life is a human life doesn’t matter if its Christian Sunni or Shia. Death is tragic but it seems for you only a “Shia Death” is tragic and the “Sunni deaths” in Syria are “Fine” and Bashar is such a caring leader.

      2. I wonder if the protesters were Shiites if your stance would change… daqat saa3at el sefer bye bye Bashar and bye bye all those who exported his barbaric style to Lebanon. Bunch of criminals. Tic Toc Tic Toc…
        And PLEASE change your name as you do not deserve it… In Hebrew Michael means HE WHO IS LIKE GOD! and you are nothing like God I assure you.

        1. Well im not Hebrew,
           
          we all know what your name means…and i see it fits…u can get mad,you can pout and u can
           
          cry…bashar is not going anywhere..trust me….and for someone who blasts religon and anyone who
           
          uses religon in there arguments,i find it funny once again that u are using god to justify your argument,
           
          u really need to stop contradicting yourself…your exposing your true self more and more…;)
           

        2. Well im not Hebrew,
           
          we all know what your name means…and i see it fits…u can get mad,you can pout and u can
           
          cry…bashar is not going anywhere..trust me….and for someone who blasts religon and anyone who
           
          uses religon in there arguments,i find it funny once again that u are using god to justify your argument,
           
          u really need to stop contradicting yourself…your exposing your true self more and more…;)
           

        3. Well im not Hebrew,
           
          we all know what your name means…and i see it fits…u can get mad,you can pout and u can
           
          cry…bashar is not going anywhere..trust me….and for someone who blasts religon and anyone who
           
          uses religon in there arguments,i find it funny once again that u are using god to justify your argument,
           
          u really need to stop contradicting yourself…your exposing your true self more and more…;)
           

        4. Well im not Hebrew,
           
          we all know what your name means…and i see it fits…u can get mad,you can pout and u can
           
          cry…bashar is not going anywhere..trust me….and for someone who blasts religon and anyone who
           
          uses religon in there arguments,i find it funny once again that u are using god to justify your argument,
           
          u really need to stop contradicting yourself…your exposing your true self more and more…;)
           

        5. Well im not Hebrew,
           
          we all know what your name means…and i see it fits…u can get mad,you can pout and u can
           
          cry…bashar is not going anywhere..trust me….and for someone who blasts religon and anyone who
           
          uses religon in there arguments,i find it funny once again that u are using god to justify your argument,
           
          u really need to stop contradicting yourself…your exposing your true self more and more…;)
           

      3.  Avatar
        Anonymous

        Bashars done my friend, i agree he will not lose power in a very long time. But his worldwide legitimacy equals “zero”. 

    2.  Avatar
      Anonymous

      You couldn’t have said it any better, any country that messed with the “Great land of the Cedars” has had its karma. Libya sent a brigade to fight the Christians, look at their country now. Somalians sent many people to also kill and rape the Christians in Damour, look at them now fighting ever since 1990. Syria raped, torturted, killed, bombed, occupied us and look what is happening to their country now. Israel has payed the price also and were taught a lesson, more Israelis died in Lebanon than any other Arab country. USA had their biggest blow in Lebanon 1983 since world war 2. Palestinians … . You couldn’t have sad it any better. The Ottaman Turks even left Lebanon, France has left Lebanon, Irans turn is coming big time.

  3. Hannibal,

    Instead of lecturing us on what u think of obama, answer my argument than…bout terry jones…

    before you check mate someone,you need some kind of game…and after what i posted u did not

    answer one point to my post..we all know we can say whatever we want..but we cannot act on it

    thats the difference son…good day 

    1. Hannibal Avatar
      Hannibal

      Terry Jones is not interested in attacking Islam but he wants to get some moslem idiot to retaliate against him so he proves that Islam is a violent religion. That is inciting violence and he should be stopped. Freedom does not mean you run naked in the street… lol That being said Ruth eloquently answered your statistics and I dare you to utter a word against Bashar in Damascus and then find yourself still standing. Don’t you hear them chant? Allah, Suria, Bashar wu bass? Bashar is like God to them. NO President NOR ANY authority should have that much power. As to those being slaughtered in the streets, find it in your heart to stand by them… They are humans THEN Sunnis.

  4. Hannibal,

    Instead of lecturing us on what u think of obama, answer my argument than…bout terry jones…

    before you check mate someone,you need some kind of game…and after what i posted u did not

    answer one point to my post..we all know we can say whatever we want..but we cannot act on it

    thats the difference son…good day 

    1. Terry Jones is not interested in attacking Islam but he wants to get some moslem idiot to retaliate against him so he proves that Islam is a violent religion. That is inciting violence and he should be stopped. Freedom does not mean you run naked in the street… lol That being said Ruth eloquently answered your statistics and I dare you to utter a word against Bashar in Damascus and then find yourself still standing. Don’t you hear them chant? Allah, Suria, Bashar wu bass? Bashar is like God to them. NO President NOR ANY authority should have that much power. As to those being slaughtered in the streets, find it in your heart to stand by them… They are humans THEN Sunnis.

  5. Hannibal,

    Instead of lecturing us on what u think of obama, answer my argument than…bout terry jones…

    before you check mate someone,you need some kind of game…and after what i posted u did not

    answer one point to my post..we all know we can say whatever we want..but we cannot act on it

    thats the difference son…good day 

  6. Hannibal,

    Instead of lecturing us on what u think of obama, answer my argument than…bout terry jones…

    before you check mate someone,you need some kind of game…and after what i posted u did not

    answer one point to my post..we all know we can say whatever we want..but we cannot act on it

    thats the difference son…good day 

  7. Hannibal,

    Instead of lecturing us on what u think of obama, answer my argument than…bout terry jones…

    before you check mate someone,you need some kind of game…and after what i posted u did not

    answer one point to my post..we all know we can say whatever we want..but we cannot act on it

    thats the difference son…good day 

  8. Hannibal,

    Instead of lecturing us on what u think of obama, answer my argument than…bout terry jones…

    before you check mate someone,you need some kind of game…and after what i posted u did not

    answer one point to my post..we all know we can say whatever we want..but we cannot act on it

    thats the difference son…good day 

  9. Ruth Reyes Avatar
    Ruth Reyes

    Michael- A few facts for you sir- The assertion put forth by
    you is that America has a 9% homeless rate-

    Fact-converting these estimates into an annual projection,
    the numbers that emerge are 2.3 million people (based on the October estimate)
    and 3.5 million people (based on the February estimate).This translates to approximately 1% of the U.S.
    population experiencing homelessness each year, 38% (October) to 39%
    (February) of them being children (Urban Institute 2000).

    Source- http://www.homeless.org.au/statistics/

    You also stated that the U.S rate of Unemployment is 14%.

    According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics- the rate of unemployment is
    9%. If one was to do a quick google search, google claims that as of
    today the rate is only 8.7%.

    Source- http://www.bls.gov/

    You claimed that gas is $5 per gallon- Fact gas is averaging
    $3.74 a gallon.

    Source-http://www.eia.doe.gov/oog/info/gdu/gasdiesel.asp

    As far as Terry Jones is concerned- the fact is I don’t care
    about someone that has the goal to incite violence, I am not interested in
    researching someone that is blatantly ignorant. Perhaps Hannibal didn’t offer
    you an answer to this benign argument because the reality is, it doesn’t
    matter. The simple fact that you quoted a bunch of statistics that were pulled
    from a relatively unknown place makes your argument completely moot. If you
    want someone to take you seriously and respond in kind I suggest sharpening
    your debate.

    The discussion was check mated when you started spewing your
    own ignorance. Furthermore, what does the U.S. unemployment rate have to do
    with the Syrians splitting over sectarian lines? Oh that’s right, nothing. The
    fact that Hannibal mentioned Obama is a valid argument. I also voted for Obama
    and will not be doing so again. The Obama factor is very relevant the homeless
    rate not so much.  Protesting occurs
    constantly in this country but perhaps not as often as it does around the rest
    of the world, we are able to protest with our votes and with our currency on
    issues that don’t agree with us. However, if you look at the past year, you
    will see massive protests in Wisconsin over the governor’s austerity reforms,
    protests in LA and Phoenix over immigration reform, protests in D.C. over our
    government’s various infallibilities. I implore you Michael to do some research
    before responding to me or anyone else.

    1. libnan1 Avatar
      libnan1

      Ruth,
      Withe great respect the numbers are closer to what Michael mentioned.

      The unemployment as measured by the government are the people filling unemployed claims. This number does not cover the people that can’t file anymore nor does it cover the people that gave up on looking for work. I f you add all these people it will come up to 15% unemployed.

      Gas is 4.50 where I live (Northeast). I guess you guys are lucky in Ohio.

      Protest in the US does not mean anything. You protest peaceful all you want, many protests took place before the Iraqi war and GW was reelected anyway.
      The only thing keeping unemployed from protest are the unemployment checks which covers the cost of alcohol to keep people feeling drowsy.  BTW, I find Arak to be the best as you can make it look like you’re drinking milk.     

      1. Ruth Reyes Avatar
        Ruth Reyes

         Libnan1-“The only thing keeping unemployed from protest are the unemployment checks which covers the cost of alcohol to keep people feeling drowsy.  BTW, I find Arak to be the best as you can make it look like you’re drinking milk.” Really Libnan?  I like Kahlua in the morning cause it looks like I am drinking coffee or vodka during the day cause it makes it look like I am drinking H20. LOL- Let’s hope the rest of the world isn’t following your lead. If you guys are going to post stats, you need to have a verifiable source- that is my only contention with Michael’s comments and he whole heartedly agreed that he pulled those numbers from thin air. Also I would have to disagree that protests in this country do not mean anything, they may not mean anything in this day and age where the majority of the population is glued to their iphones, ipads, and facebook, but there was a time when people in this country did care about the issues. That time will come again,

        1. libnan1 Avatar
          libnan1

           Good suggestion !!!! Kahlua is great too…LOLMy stats are pretty close because no one know the exact number of unemployed. If there is anything I’m good at, it is crunching numbers. Government is not a good source of exact numbers, they tell you what they want you to believe.

      2. Ruth Reyes Avatar
        Ruth Reyes

         Libnan1-“The only thing keeping unemployed from protest are the unemployment checks which covers the cost of alcohol to keep people feeling drowsy.  BTW, I find Arak to be the best as you can make it look like you’re drinking milk.” Really Libnan?  I like Kahlua in the morning cause it looks like I am drinking coffee or vodka during the day cause it makes it look like I am drinking H20. LOL- Let’s hope the rest of the world isn’t following your lead. If you guys are going to post stats, you need to have a verifiable source- that is my only contention with Michael’s comments and he whole heartedly agreed that he pulled those numbers from thin air. Also I would have to disagree that protests in this country do not mean anything, they may not mean anything in this day and age where the majority of the population is glued to their iphones, ipads, and facebook, but there was a time when people in this country did care about the issues. That time will come again,

    2. Thank you Ruth for your corrections,

      I did exaggerate the numbers without researching just to make the point that if anyone wants to protest

      anything anywhere in the world that anyone can justify there  cause to rise up and cause internal problems,

      I am man enough to admit that i stand corrected…but the protests you speak of in the USA are for

      pro and anti union support…they are not protesting against the goverment or asking obaman to step down,

      if they did this would be treason,and second where i live gas is $4.74 a gallon,i did not base it on the average,

      and finally bout Terry Jones and you dont care bout some idiot that wants to incite violence,but im sorry isnt

      that what the protesters are doing in Syria,inciting violence….you see Ruth,to you Terry Jones is an idiot who

      is inciting violence,but to me and others he still has the american right to practice free speech,but since

      he will be breaching the peace they decided to arrest him,so what do you think will happen Ruth,whn millions

      take the streets and try to bring down the goverment,do you think that will be filed under the “breaching the 

      peace” agreement,I do….and what will happen to the protesters….charged with treason…now lets go back

      to Syria,the ones that support the president and goverment what do you think they think of the protesters,

      probably the same thing you think of Terry Jones…Good Day to you Ms.Ruth,and once again thank you

      for correcting my exaggerations….Peace 

      1. Ruth Reyes Avatar
        Ruth Reyes

        Michael- Not the reply that I was expecting~ Thank you for admitting your exaggerations. It was my attempt at not having a discussion on the Terry Jones issue but he seems to be your primary interest this morning, so my opinion on him is as follows.

         There are a vast majority of ignorant Americans in this country yet we do not give them any credit or the authority to speak for a nation so why defend Mr. Jones? Mr. Jones is a racist, an islamaphobe (if that is a word), he made a spectacle of himself and this country a year ago with his Quran Burning party in which the President, State Department, and Defense Department had to get involved and make public statements about this man and the danger that he was causing this country. Mr. Jones at the time stepped off his podium and agreed not to burn the Quran~ he was also offered a free car by a local Florida dealership to promise not to burn a Quran in the future- by taking that bribe he relinquished his rights at embarrassing a country. 

        However, he reneged on his promise this year and went ahead and burned a Quran and then published that burning on You Tube~~ days after our troops were attacked in Afghanistan and Pakistan (please let’s not jump to whether or not our troops belong there in the first place discussion). Mr. Jones is a menace to society, by allowing him to speak you legitimize his argument. If a person burns our flag he is also arrested, if a man burns a holy book of another religion in order to incite violence then prison is the best place for him. Mr. Jones does not have the right to trash another man’s religion there is no constitutional right that guarantee’s him those freedoms, study up on the constitution if you want to debate me on this. We have freedoms with limitations. 

        Now to the Protesters-I can not equate the plight of Mr. Jones and the plight of the protesters on equal ground. Mr. Jones is a buffoon and an embarrassment. The protesters are fighting a corrupt regime and have the right to do so as a human. They are not defiling other people’s basic belief systems in the process in order to stir up trouble. Mr. Jones likes the attention, his 15 minutes were up long ago but he needs more, in reality what on earth could Mr. Jones know about Shariah Law that could possibly make him a voice of reason? He didn’t belong in Dearborn and the authorities in my humble opinion have him where he belongs, if we could stop paying attention to him he might go away. Unfortunately he is like a mosquito that needs to keep buzzing around the light- I implore you Michael to turn off that light and slap that nuisance away.

    3. Thank you Ruth for your corrections,

      I did exaggerate the numbers without researching just to make the point that if anyone wants to protest

      anything anywhere in the world that anyone can justify there  cause to rise up and cause internal problems,

      I am man enough to admit that i stand corrected…but the protests you speak of in the USA are for

      pro and anti union support…they are not protesting against the goverment or asking obaman to step down,

      if they did this would be treason,and second where i live gas is $4.74 a gallon,i did not base it on the average,

      and finally bout Terry Jones and you dont care bout some idiot that wants to incite violence,but im sorry isnt

      that what the protesters are doing in Syria,inciting violence….you see Ruth,to you Terry Jones is an idiot who

      is inciting violence,but to me and others he still has the american right to practice free speech,but since

      he will be breaching the peace they decided to arrest him,so what do you think will happen Ruth,whn millions

      take the streets and try to bring down the goverment,do you think that will be filed under the “breaching the 

      peace” agreement,I do….and what will happen to the protesters….charged with treason…now lets go back

      to Syria,the ones that support the president and goverment what do you think they think of the protesters,

      probably the same thing you think of Terry Jones…Good Day to you Ms.Ruth,and once again thank you

      for correcting my exaggerations….Peace 

  10.  Avatar
    Anonymous

    Ruth,
    Withe great respect the numbers are closer to what Michael mentioned.

    The unemployment as measured by the government are the people filling unemployed claims. This number does not cover the people that can’t file anymore nor does it cover the people that gave up on looking for work. I f you add all these people it will come up to 15% unemployed.

    Gas is 4.50 where I live (Northeast). I guess you guys are lucky in Ohio.

    Protest in the US does not mean anything. You protest peaceful all you want, many protests took place before the Iraqi war and GW was reelected anyway.
    The only thing keeping unemployed from protest are the unemployment checks which covers the cost of alcohol to keep people feeling drowsy.  BTW, I find Arak to be the best as you can make it look like you’re drinking milk.     

    1. Ruth Reyes Avatar
      Ruth Reyes

       Libnan1-“The only thing keeping unemployed from protest are the unemployment checks which covers the cost of alcohol to keep people feeling drowsy.  BTW, I find Arak to be the best as you can make it look like you’re drinking milk.” Really Libnan?  I like Kahlua in the morning cause it looks like I am drinking coffee or vodka during the day cause it makes it look like I am drinking H20. LOL- Let’s hope the rest of the world isn’t following your lead. If you guys are going to post stats, you need to have a verifiable source- that is my only contention with Michael’s comments and he whole heartedly agreed that he pulled those numbers from thin air. Also I would have to disagree that protests in this country do not mean anything, they may not mean anything in this day and age where the majority of the population is glued to their iphones, ipads, and facebook, but there was a time when people in this country did care about the issues. That time will come again,

      1.  Avatar
        Anonymous

         Good suggestion !!!! Kahlua is great too…LOLMy stats are pretty close because no one know the exact number of unemployed. If there is anything I’m good at, it is crunching numbers. Government is not a good source of exact numbers, they tell you what they want you to believe.

  11. Thank you Ruth for your corrections,

    I did exaggerate the numbers without researching just to make the point that if anyone wants to protest

    anything anywhere in the world that anyone can justify there  cause to rise up and cause internal problems,

    I am man enough to admit that i stand corrected…but the protests you speak of in the USA are for

    pro and anti union support…they are not protesting against the goverment or asking obaman to step down,

    if they did this would be treason,and second where i live gas is $4.74 a gallon,i did not base it on the average,

    and finally bout Terry Jones and you dont care bout some idiot that wants to incite violence,but im sorry isnt

    that what the protesters are doing in Syria,inciting violence….you see Ruth,to you Terry Jones is an idiot who

    is inciting violence,but to me and others he still has the american right to practice free speech,but since

    he will be breaching the peace they decided to arrest him,so what do you think will happen Ruth,whn millions

    take the streets and try to bring down the goverment,do you think that will be filed under the “breaching the 

    peace” agreement,I do….and what will happen to the protesters….charged with treason…now lets go back

    to Syria,the ones that support the president and goverment what do you think they think of the protesters,

    probably the same thing you think of Terry Jones…Good Day to you Ms.Ruth,and once again thank you

    for correcting my exaggerations….Peace 

    1. Ruth Reyes Avatar
      Ruth Reyes

      Michael- Not the reply that I was expecting~ Thank you for admitting your exaggerations. It was my attempt at not having a discussion on the Terry Jones issue but he seems to be your primary interest this morning, so my opinion on him is as follows.

       There are a vast majority of ignorant Americans in this country yet we do not give them any credit or the authority to speak for a nation so why defend Mr. Jones? Mr. Jones is a racist, an islamaphobe (if that is a word), he made a spectacle of himself and this country a year ago with his Quran Burning party in which the President, State Department, and Defense Department had to get involved and make public statements about this man and the danger that he was causing this country. Mr. Jones at the time stepped off his podium and agreed not to burn the Quran~ he was also offered a free car by a local Florida dealership to promise not to burn a Quran in the future- by taking that bribe he relinquished his rights at embarrassing a country. 

      However, he reneged on his promise this year and went ahead and burned a Quran and then published that burning on You Tube~~ days after our troops were attacked in Afghanistan and Pakistan (please let’s not jump to whether or not our troops belong there in the first place discussion). Mr. Jones is a menace to society, by allowing him to speak you legitimize his argument. If a person burns our flag he is also arrested, if a man burns a holy book of another religion in order to incite violence then prison is the best place for him. Mr. Jones does not have the right to trash another man’s religion there is no constitutional right that guarantee’s him those freedoms, study up on the constitution if you want to debate me on this. We have freedoms with limitations. 

      Now to the Protesters-I can not equate the plight of Mr. Jones and the plight of the protesters on equal ground. Mr. Jones is a buffoon and an embarrassment. The protesters are fighting a corrupt regime and have the right to do so as a human. They are not defiling other people’s basic belief systems in the process in order to stir up trouble. Mr. Jones likes the attention, his 15 minutes were up long ago but he needs more, in reality what on earth could Mr. Jones know about Shariah Law that could possibly make him a voice of reason? He didn’t belong in Dearborn and the authorities in my humble opinion have him where he belongs, if we could stop paying attention to him he might go away. Unfortunately he is like a mosquito that needs to keep buzzing around the light- I implore you Michael to turn off that light and slap that nuisance away.

  12.  Hannibal,

    I have nothing against sunnies bro..thats where u are soo wrongggg…..and in previous posts i have condemned

    the killing of innocent people in Syria, I defend the palestinans more than the sunnies do…it has nothing to do with

    that,with your argument than i should be happy whn israel kills palestinians cause there sunnie….common thats

    non sense…i have never once defended syria or bashar or what hes doing…go back and read…all i said hes not

    going anywhere…thats all i said,cause greater powers need him…u got me all wrong cuz…

  13.  Hannibal,

    I have nothing against sunnies bro..thats where u are soo wrongggg…..and in previous posts i have condemned

    the killing of innocent people in Syria, I defend the palestinans more than the sunnies do…it has nothing to do with

    that,with your argument than i should be happy whn israel kills palestinians cause there sunnie….common thats

    non sense…i have never once defended syria or bashar or what hes doing…go back and read…all i said hes not

    going anywhere…thats all i said,cause greater powers need him…u got me all wrong cuz…

  14.  Hannibal,

    I have nothing against sunnies bro..thats where u are soo wrongggg…..and in previous posts i have condemned

    the killing of innocent people in Syria, I defend the palestinans more than the sunnies do…it has nothing to do with

    that,with your argument than i should be happy whn israel kills palestinians cause there sunnie….common thats

    non sense…i have never once defended syria or bashar or what hes doing…go back and read…all i said hes not

    going anywhere…thats all i said,cause greater powers need him…u got me all wrong cuz…

  15.  One more thing…whn the coptics were killed in Egypt,i was the first to state,

    that if i can risk my life to save one life of theres i would do it,to show what true

    islam is….call me what u want bro,but dont call me a man that beleives in seperation

    of man kind,i dont support no killing against anyone,jew,christian,moslem,buddhist,and hindus,or athiests,

    its politcs bro…thats all….The Syrian issue is not as black and white as you want to make it….is pretty complicated…

  16.  One more thing…whn the coptics were killed in Egypt,i was the first to state,

    that if i can risk my life to save one life of theres i would do it,to show what true

    islam is….call me what u want bro,but dont call me a man that beleives in seperation

    of man kind,i dont support no killing against anyone,jew,christian,moslem,buddhist,and hindus,or athiests,

    its politcs bro…thats all….The Syrian issue is not as black and white as you want to make it….is pretty complicated…

  17. Thanks Libnan1…

    You made a valid point…

     

  18. Thanks Libnan1…

    You made a valid point…

     

  19. antar2011 Avatar
    antar2011

    as a lebanese, when reading the last two lines of this article i feel sad because they are true.

    we have always been the playground of the big boys.

    we do not deserve to have a life of our own..

    🙁

  20.  Avatar
    Anonymous

    as a lebanese, the last two lines of this article are sadly true.

     

  21. Fauzia45 Avatar
    Fauzia45

    Regimes will do anything to hold on to their chairs;arm the Shiite against the Sunni or Sunni against Shiite and so  on!

  22.  Avatar
    Anonymous

    Regimes will do anything to hold on to their chairs;arm the Shiite against the Sunni or Sunni against Shiite and so  on!

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