Turkish Military Strikes Syrian Targets

[mightyg]

Basically Syria is doing things like firing a few shells, mentioning their chemical weapon stockpiles, and shooting down Turkish planes in order to intimidate their neighbors into staying out of the conflict. Give em just a tiny taste so their populations know what all out war might be like. They're trying to demonstrate the chaos they could sow if other nations get involved. It's a risky gamble but it seems to have paid off for them so far.

[Tajin]

Shots were fired and Turkey is responding in kind, so far looks pretty much by the book (as in you hit me, I hit you back twice as hard). But then again stuff has escalated from far less in the past. Hoping this is not the case and Syria backs off (lol yeah...)

[archibaldcrane]

Anyone have a picture of the endgame here? This rebellion doesn't seem to be going away, and "international outrage" doesn't seem to be going away either. Is there an outcome possible here where Assad stays in power?

[Salodin]

Anyone have a picture of the endgame here? This rebellion doesn't seem to be going away, and "international outrage" doesn't seem to be going away either. Is there an outcome possible here where Assad stays in power?

Syria bolsters their military power in response to Turkeys response, but are really just using that increase in military strength to keep the populace down from uprising.

[Andalusian girls]

Anyone have a picture of the endgame here? This rebellion doesn't seem to be going away, and "international outrage" doesn't seem to be going away either. Is there an outcome possible here where Assad stays in power?

he could win

the Arab League / NATO won't intervene without the United States leading the way and there is no indication Obama is prepared to do that & the U.N. is crippled by Russian and Chinese vetoes

looks like it's up to the Syrian insurgents to get the job done on their own or it won't get done at all. hard to say how long this stalemate and parity of forces is going to last but one side will break through eventually

[BaneTheBrawler]

I vaguely remember someone, possibly our ambassador or something, saying that the Syrians don't want our help anyway. Although, that was fairly early in the Arab Spring, so I suppose things may have changed by now.

[Andalusian girls]

the FSA (Free Syrian Army; the major organization of the rebels) has been desperately pleading for aid and many prominent Syrian expatriates are lobbying as hard as they can for foreign intervention of one kind of another

and aye the game has totally changed since the Arab Spring began. the civil war had not yet broken out and Assad was seen as a far more mild man than his father was, Clinton famously referred to him as a reformer (and prior to the civil war he generally was more lenient than his psychopathic father)