Stand down: Moscow has ‘irrefutable’ evidence chem attack in Syria’s Douma was staged

[scooterscot]

There are lots of possible reasons, so it's hard to look inside the minds of thugs like Putin and Assad to see what the actual reason was. The one line of argument that doesn't stand up is that Assad has no possible reason for using chemical weapons (and therefore he didn't).

You could easily have said the very same thing about Blair before half a million Iraqis were killed. And we voted this thug into power. Seems to me our own government has much more blood on its hands than currently do the Russians, would you not agree? WMD's were 45 minutes away. Just because they did not exist doesn't mean they could not be fired.

The argument now between the West and Russia is dangerous to world stability. Face it, the Russians won the information war, control of the internet better than even the Chinese and the US is pissed.

[northernladyuk]

What leads you to believe that a regime engaged in a bloody, seven-year civil war that has killed an estimated 400,000 and displaced six million of its own citizens would behave rationally?

Don't waste your time asking someone who once stayed at the Thistle Hotel Heathrow and failed to put it on expenses.

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUser...n_England.html

[jamesbrown]

Without picking sides...

Let me stop you right there, scootie.

The way this works is that you're either the sort of fruitcake that believes in conspiracy theories and cryptotwaddle, or you're not that sort of numpty.

[jamesbrown]

Don't waste your time asking someone who once stayed at the Thistle Hotel Heathrow and failed to put it on expenses.

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUser...n_England.html

What I like most about that feedback is the idea that scootie has progressed beyond long division in Excel.

[SueEllen]

Let me stop you right there, scootie.

The way this works is that you're either the sort of fruitcake that believes in conspiracy theories and cryptotwaddle, or you're not that sort of numpty.

He supports Korbyn.

[scooterscot]

Judge by actions, not hot air.

Seems to me everyone here has an opinion without a shred of evidence. You'd think we'd have learned our lesson about entering conflicts without evidence.

[scooterscot]

He supports Korbyn.

Scooter supports himself.

[NotAllThere]

With a near impossible enemy, you just surround the area in question and cut off supply lines, sooner or later starvation cripples the enemy. Dozens of examples of how such techniques were practiced in war after war over the last 200 years are available to read about.

It just doesn't make sense otherwise.

It makes perfect sense. It goes like this. I am a total who doesn't give a about anyone except myself and my power base. I can't be arsed to wait for starvation to weaken them, I want victory NOW!

Make it so, number one.... what, you're worried about the response for the West? Ah - they did nothing last time, now get on with it before I apply a blow torch to your bollocks.

[scooterscot]

You lifted that from Tory manifesto din't ya?

Nevertheless and few missiles is not going to do squat. If anything it'll only empower him further. Dictators thrive on absolute power, the West should focus on removing that without conflict. They've had 7 years to do it and did bugger all while watching hundreds of thousands die needlessly,

I'd sooner believe this attack was a false flag rebel group fighting against another, as has happened dozen times before, rather than Bashar who fell into power rather than lusted after it.

[Lance]

Without picking sides... someone just explain to me why on the eve of winning the conflict Bashar would use chemical weapons knowing what the international response would be?

Perhaps Dr Bashar thought he was just practicing local Anaesthesia... so not so bad.

without picking sides..... other than thinking conspiracy theorists are belle-ends..... someone explain to me why anyone would engineer a situation that gets UK, USA and France involved at such a late stage? If they have the means they would have done it when the war wasn't already lost.

It makes no sense either way, but if you look at the simple facts of who has the weapons, and the means of delivery, then it's pretty straightforward (and the guys a Cu*t).