A Justifiable Frustration Simmering in the Slow Cooker of the Conservative Psyche

There is a justifiable frustration that has been simmering in the slow cooker of the conservative psyche for over 20 years. The problem facing the GOP today is not this frustration and hunger for something new, rather it is that what Chef Trump is serving is different than what he claims and is poisonous to our Republic.

Syria - The Blame Game

“In the face of violence that seems intractable and suffering that is so senseless, it is easy to grow cynical, and I think tempting to give in to the notion that peace and security may be beyond our grasp.

But I say to all of you here today, especially the young people, do not give into that cynicism. Do not lose the idealism and optimism that is the root of all great change. Don’t ever lose the faith that says, if we want it, if we are willing to work for it, if we stand together, the future can be different; tomorrow can be better. After all, the only reason we’re here today in a free and democratic Estonia is because the Estonian people never gave up.” Speech by United States President Barack Obama, September 3, 2014, Tallinn, Estonia

Should this idealism and optimism belong only to European countries under oppression? Should the young people of Syria not hold out the same hope, the same determination?

ISIS, Syria and Bashar al-Assad – Who, What, When, Where and Why (Reposted from September 2014)

I am re-posting this because sadly it remains relevant today - one year later...

As the president prepares to address the nation this evening regarding ISIS/Syria, it is worth taking a moment to reflect on how the Syrian crisis and later the ISIS crisis came to be.

In the spring of 2011, moderate students, small business owners, academics and others took the streets of Damascus, Syrian to protest the tyrannical reign of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad. This was part of the larger regional democratic push coined as the “Arab Spring.”  

These protestors were not jihadists. They were not radicals. They were fathers and mothers, husbands and wives who simply longed for the same values we cherish – freedom of assembly, free and fair elections and a fair and open judicial process among them. They also dared to seek rights we do not ever think to cherish such as the right to not be tortured by the intelligence service of your own government for verbalizing any criticism of the president or his policies.

Brief television interview on Syria on WBIR, Knoxville, TN

Here is a link to an interview I gave yesterday regarding the Syrian refugee crisis and the fact that Syrian President Bashar al Assad bears full responsibility.

Syria and Russia Today

The media is flush with reports of Russian involvement in Syria in support of President Assad. This is not new and comments from the U.S. administration saying it is now "concerned," and that the escalation we see today could not have been predicted are obnoxious. We have known since 2012 that Russia is directly supporting Assad through logistics and intelligence, as well as, arms and supplies.

Throughout this time, and continuing today, with Russia's support, Assad is targeting civilians NOT ISIS. He continues to use Chlorine gas and barrel bombs in direct violation of UN Security Council resolutions. He continues to target hospitals and assassinate doctors and nurses in direct violation of Geneva protocols.

Simply put, Assad has, and continues to, openly and flagrantly commit war crimes against his people. The UN knows this. The West knows this. Iran knows this. Russia knows this.

Any expression of shocked surprise from officials is disingenuous at best.

Why would Assad do this? Since 2011 he has been been in a war he declared on the Syrian people who want change. They began in March 2011 asking simply for multi-party elections. Assad responded with bullets and the civil war began. Later radicalized Islamists joined the fight against him and gave him exactly what he needed - A common enemy with the West.

He quickly claimed that he was fighting "terrorism" and ISIS just like the U.S. and the West. He successfully marginalized all legitimate groups who sought political change in Syria. All became terrorist - all who opposed his reign were labeled enemies and targets. Since then, he has killed 250,000 civilians, displaced 11 million (half of the entire country) and destroyed city after city. All this has been made possible because of Russia's direct support.

The fact that Russia is now ramping up its presence is due to Assad's recent battlefield setbacks. He has lost the key Idlib province and is now desperately trying to consolidate his strength from the coastal city of Latakia south to Damascus.

Russia, like Mighty Mouse, is here (there) to save his day.

What is the solution? Call Putin's bluff and tell Assad enough.

A first step would be to let Turkey say to Assad that the next time a helicopter flies over a civilian neighborhood or hospital and releases a barrel bomb killing children, the airfield it flew from will no longer exist. Period.

At the same time, Obama should quietly tell Putin that if he intervenes in any effort to stop Assad from committing war crimes against children we will respond first by calling the leaders of Ukraine and Sweden and saying,"Welcome to NATO!"

Putin can afford to be the bully because we let him. He needs to be the bully because his economy is in shambles and he needs the slight of hand of foreign aggression to distract the Russian public from rising prices and dropping values. Syria, to Putin, is simply the next Ukraine - the next place Putin can both flex his muscle and get distracted applause at home AND prod and prob the resolve of the West.

Assad on the other hand is a desperate man who knows if he falls he will at best be tried by a war crimes tribunal and executed. There is no end game for him except not to be killed.

Every day that goes by however, more women and children are killed, more desperate people get into rubber rafts, more young men are radicalized to hate the west and a country with 2,000 years of civilizations slips further into hell.

Statement by Sarmin Civil Defense Official on Use of Chlorine Gas by Syrian President Assad - In English

The following is a statement regarding Syrian President Bashar al Assad's use of concentrated chloride gas as a weapon against civilians in the city of Sarmin and surrounding areas. It is very powerful and is directed at the United Nations Security Council which on March 6, 2015 passed Security Council Resolution 2209 which demanded all parties in Syria stop using chlorine as a weapon. The most recent attacks occurred on March 16 - 24.

The gentleman speaking is with the Civil Defense organization working on behalf of the wounded in the area. He has first hand knowledge of the attacks and resulting casualties. 

It is imperative that the United Nations Security Council demand access to samples that are available in the area. 

(Full written transcript below video.)

Statement by a Representative of the Civilian Defense Team of Sarmin, Syria on the Suspected Use of Chloride Gas by the Syrian Arab Republic as a Weapon Against Civilians

March 25, 2015 – (Sarmin, Syria ) To the friends of the Syrian people in both the United Nations Security Council and in its member Nations, I am Laith Faris. I am the head of the Civil Defense emergency operations in the city of Sarakeb, Idleb, Syria and on stand-by for the surrounding cities of Sarmin and Bannish.

I respectfully make the following urgent appeal:

The people of the towns of Sarmin, Binnish and Kminas have been under repeated air attack and barrel bomb raids by the government of Syria since March 16th. Just yesterday, the regime bombarded several area cities wounding many and killing at least 10 civilians, including 4 children. 

Unlike attacks of the past, those beginning on March 16th have included barrel bombs containing chemical weapons – what medical personnel say appears to be concentrated chlorine gas. 

On the evening of March 16th at approximately 9:00 pm and 10:45 pm local time, the Air Force of Syrian President Bashar al Assad flew two helicopters over a residential area of the city and released four barrel bombs. 

Over 150 civilians suffered the clear symptoms associated with Chloride gas; burning in the eyes, cough, difficulty breathing, and dizziness, followed in the severe with unconsciousness, convulsion, discoloration of the skin due to lack of oxygen, followed by death. 

The smell of bleach spread in the town as experienced by countless witnesses. Official tests of tissue samples and the material dropped by the helicopters can verify this, but such labs are unavailable in the city. I have some of these samples laying before me now. 

Six people died from this attack including three siblings - a 3 year old girl named Sarah, her sister, a 2 year old girl named Aisha and her brother, a 1 year old boy named Mohammed. 

For the past week we have desperately tried to get tissue samples into the hands of United Nations personnel so that the agent used could be confirmed, but due to border closings we have been unsuccessful. The samples, however, remain intact but we are concerned the evidence will be lost the longer the samples do not get analyzed. 

On March 22rd, President Assad ordered a second attack using the same chemical agent. Thankfully there have been no reported fatalities from this unwarranted attack on civilians. 

On March 24th, as many as 9 helicopters flew multiple barrel bomb raids on the cities. At the time of this statement I do not know the number of casualties. 

As you know, on March 6, 2015, only ten days prior to the first attack, the Security Council voted overwhelmingly in favor of resolution 2209. This resolution explicitly forbade the Assad regime from using chlorine gas as a chemical weapon and it invoked the enforcement power of Article VII of the UN Charter which allows for both economic and military response. 

In addition, it expressly supported the work of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and its fact-finding mission to study all available information relating to allegations of chemical weapons use in Syria. It stressed that those responsible for use of chemical weapons — including chlorine — must be held accountable. In addition, the Council called on all parties to fully cooperate with the mission. 

The civilians of Sarmin, Binnish and Kminas respectfully, but with near desperation, ask that the United Nations Security Council immediately demand open transit to the area and access to all samples that would verify the use of Chloride gas. This action would be in direct support of the mission of the OPCW and in keeping with resolution 2209. 

If it is shown that Chlorine has been used as a weapon, we ask that you put your words into action. 

We ask that you use all means necessary and authorized under Article VII to put a stop to this inhumane and barbaric attempt by President Assad to cower and kill – to kill a people whose only crime has been to seek freedom. 

Please know, the resolutions you pass in support of Syrian civilians are read, are heard and are appreciated – in fact, they have served as life-lines that keep us from drowning. We read and hear your words and believe them and tell our children, it will be OK. 

It is clear that President Assad is mocking you and your resolve – but even more he is intent on killing the children and other civilians of my beloved city. 

He will claim he is fighting terrorist. Sarah, Aisha and little Mohammed were not terrorists and they are not “collateral.” They were dearly loved young people who suffocated to death because of their president’s intentional actions. 

I have held other young lives as they gasp for breath and I, not as a director of a civil defense group, but as a human being, a father, a Syrian beg you to please, please stand by your words and bring an end to this madness. 

On behalf of every Syrian who longs for freedom and who seeks a peaceful and democratic future, we thank you. You are our hope. May God bless you and your families – and may God grant a free and peaceful Syria. 

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The Syrian Crisis - Interview with Dean Rice

The following is a link to a YouTube video of an interview I recently gave on a local television station regarding the Syrian Crisis.
A discussion on the Syrian crisis - Interview with Dean Rice