My recent Tweets:
I’m thinking we were wrong about Syria, who used the gas and President Assad.
Why was attack launched before full investigation? What did Assad have to gain? Why do local Christians support Assad? Too many questions.
Bishop of Jerusalem told me USA was wrong and Russia right in regard to Syria. The bishops of Syria are coming out on the side of Assad.
Big mistake 2 unseat Hussein, Mubarak, Gaddafi. Left void filled by radicals. Now Assad too? Arab Spring or Nightmare? Latter for Christians.
I bet it will come out others did use Gas to set up Assad and provide reason to eliminate him.
My astute world observer and Catholic thinker wrote: “
Sitting here in India one view is that the fact that Obama did not do anything when Syria crossed his red line seems to have played no small part in promoting Donald Trump to act decisively. Driver being ego, knee jerk , rash or sound judgment – time will tell .
What is intriguing is that very little time or effort seems to have gone to publicize the conclusive proof that these sarin gas attacks were indeed the result of Syrian government bombs rather than any other scenario.
This sarin gas attack allegedly by Syrian government seems unusual and out of character , for a party that had regained the initiative and regained large swathes of territory from the rebels.
Why risk universal isolation and exactly the kind of intervention now enacted by the USA when you are winning and the people you rule over are relatively happy.
Having lost the initiative with the surrender of Aleppo thanks to the intervention of Russia , the Western coalition needed an excuse to intervene to try and get a seat at the table to ultimately resolve this Syrian issue. The UN standing as an impotent spectator yet again.
Only God can help us all avoid another post western intervention Iraq and Libya state of disorder and the continued existence of ISIS.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi Steve
Please read 'From the Holy Mountain' by William Dalrymple in case you have not yet. He is a historian and travel writer and the book is a secular publishing . He follows the route taken by a sixth century Monk , John Moschos before the advent of Islam from Jerusalem to Mongolia . He goes to all the Christian sites and places mentioned in the monk's account and finds many non-existent , derelict or simply 'taken over" . He however gives a very favorable account on Syria under Assad and that it was an oasis of shelter to even Armenians fleeing the Turks . Various Christian denominations like the Syrian-Orthodox , Syrian-Catholic etc thriving there . His account was written in 1997 and chilling had a prophecy that this status quo might get disturbed if Assad ever fell .
Eddie
STEVE RAY HERE: Eddie, you are completely correct and so was the author of the book. Thanks for sharing. I was also in Damascus twice 10 years ago and that was my sentiments precisely.
I don’t think that Assad is a good guy (but he might be better than what would follow) and he is not stupid. There was nothing in a chemical attack that would profit him or Russia. I don’t think that either would really condone such an attack. I really believe that the attack was the result of a rogue commander whatever the motives. Assad cannot say that as it looks like he is not in control. I also think that the Trump response was exactly the right one. It said, be careful what you do whatever the circumstances.
I do not know enough about this issue and the background to know who is doing what and for what reasons. But I do know that the idea that political leaders act rationally and only according to what is in their best interest is spurious. Hitler, for example, completely misjudged his abilities and those of his opponents, but his miscalculation did not keep him from continuing to invade. It was not in his best interest, but to his warped mind, it seemed the best thing to do. In other words, people do irrational things, and we can’t conclude that just because someone has ended up in a worse position, he has not irrationally put himself in that position for some unclear reason.