Can we afford to chuck missiles at Assad?

[Sir Charlie of Nicholas]

That ****'s expensive, you know.

[7evens]

Shows the world, we're considering bringing johnny foreigner into line.

[Billy Goat Sverige]

[Classic Jorge]

We've got to keep the demand for BAE products going and let's face it there's no justification quite like 'brown man with moustache uses chemical weapons we may have accidentally given him when we were mates'.

Now, where's Colin with that Powerpoint presentation?

[Mc Gooner]

[Rich]

[Sir Charlie of Nicholas]

[Classic Jorge]

[Billy Goat Sverige]

[PSRB]

[Supermac1976]

[Classic Jorge]

[Rich]

[Steve Williams - gay for Mark Knopfler]

Who is Assad?

[Rich]

have will be relics.

[Luis Anaconda]

[Supermac1976]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/adamcurtis/posts/BUGGER

[redgunamo]

We can't ALL wear sandals and weave baskets and sing "Kumbayah" for a living.

[The Tony]

When everyone spilled over into Iraq....why would the all leave?

They just all ran out of Syria on conveniently placed portable bridges.....think everyone knew this was Comming.

What's more worrying is that they all decided to head east to Iraq and not north to Turkey.....are they involved as well? Don't NATO use Turkey for their missile stations?

Methinks a war or air strike will be asking for trouble....too many imponderable here.....Wouldn't be surprised if this was a double play with the rebels gassing their own people to force the West to launch an attack on Assad.

Desperate times....

[Steve Williams - gay for Mark Knopfler]

Does my tits in.

[Steve Williams - gay for Mark Knopfler]

Dick Law in transit.

[Classic Jorge]

[Sir Charlie of Nicholas]

[Classic Jorge]

[Classic Jorge]

You have to admit there are some pretty f**king unmistakable parallels here.

[Harry Balls]

Several hundred miles away and let 'me have it. It's the British spirit, you see, can't let Johnny foreigner get in the way of our colorful history of oppression, plundering and taking the moral high ground. Stiff upper lip and the fist of god, that's what they need.

[Sir Charlie of Nicholas]

I suppose Cameron and Obama are keen to get involved because the last lot did Bush and Blair so much good.

[Classic Jorge]

The old sabre rattle is a winwin isnt it?

[Maz]

[Ashberto]

[Steve Williams - gay for Mark Knopfler]

Appears to be on quite a lot mind you.

[Maz]

[Mack]

[Classic Jorge]

[Sir Charlie of Nicholas]

than 'tends to', though. I suppose there's only so much we can stand by and watch - although we manage when it's politically or militarily impossible.

Tricky stuff.

[Ashberto]

I heard that your old pals the KLA have been working with the Syrian faction described as rebels. This gas attack smells like Racak to me. Fishy.

[Maz]

http://www.yodathewise.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/Tomahawkpage/tomahawk1.jpg

[Ashberto]

anything.

In a nutshell though, where the potential for intervention exists, that faction most likely to gain from it will play to the gallery, often with PR companies such as Ruder Finn, who see their job to *distribute* information rather than *verify* it. This distinction is critical, and very dangerous, because the truth can quickly get left behind.

The faction seeking intervention has little incentive to strike a deal because why should it, when it can get massive outside help? Once external powers intervene in one conflict, it encourages other conflicts to start because if a bunch of rebels think they can win the PR war, they'll start a shooting one.

[Mack]

That is not a euphemism ..

[redgunamo]

We happily create bad guys just as we happily kill them, and we thrive on this circle.

Abstract ideas about truth and justice are just masks we wear when necessary.

[dismalswamp]

[Ashberto]

[redgunamo]

It's just like our football; we are doing well, in large part, because the game itself is doing well.

We are not looking for a solution, or an end to football; we want the game to go on. Who "wins" (trophies, say) or who is right or wrong out of all of this is irrelevant. We must just keep on doing it, game after game and season after season.

There is no real "end" other than our own stability; everything is just history.

[eastgermanautos]