Syrian Rebels Risk Losing Moral High Ground To Assad As Video Shows Summary Executions

[Purveyor]

Source: Associated Press

By Associated Press, Updated: Thursday, August 2, 4:11 PM

BEIRUT — The unsteady, hand-held video shows several bloodied prisoners, one in boxer shorts, being led into a noisy outdoor crowd and placed against a wall. The prisoners crouch and seem to avert their eyes as men carrying assault rifles shout slogans and take aim. The gunfire lasts for more than 30 seconds.

The international community has accused Syrian President Bashar Assad’s forces of war crimes, but the gunmen in this gruesome video were rebels. Their slogans: “Free Syrian Army Forever!” and “God is Great!”

The video, which surfaced online this week, is fueling concerns that opposition fighters are capable of brutality that matches that of the regime they are seeking to topple — a charge that could badly damage the rebellion’s ability to claim the moral high ground in the Syrian civil war.

As rebels gain more territory and a multitude of militias, jihadists and criminals join the fight against Assad, reports of serious human rights abuses committed by armed opposition elements are on the rise.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/syrian-rebels-risk-losing-moral-high-ground-to-assad-as-video-shows-summary-executions/2012/08/02/gJQAkYDTSX_story.html

[SIIHPAPP87]

1. Good to know Obama is supporting these savages.

I've seen said videos. They are not pretty.

[WilliamPitt]

3. Oy.

[nanabugg]

2. This has been going on since the beginning...even before Assad responded.

Same thing happened in Libya. We will never learn. It's during the cold war all anyone had to say was "communism" and we would support anyone who said they were against it...anyone!

[Comrade Grumpy]

5. "A multitude of militias, jihadists, and criminals join the fight against Assad..."

and us. Nice company we're keeping. Maybe this will turn out as well as our help to the mujahadeen in Afghanistan back in the 1980s. We're still paying the price for that bit of imperial folly.

[frylock]

6. same as it ever was..

see y'all in 30 years when we're toppling the new regime... errrr uhhh assisting the rebels.

[woo me with science]

7. Sound familiar?

It damned well should by now.

Have we had enough yet?

[Igel]

8. "Risk"? n/t

[David__77]

9. Civilization or barbarism. That is the choice Syria must make.

Foreign fighters are flocking to Syria to participate in a medieval counterrevolution against human enlightenment. One more step on the road to ultimate "clash or civilizations," the ideology that unites Donald Rumsfeld and al Qaeda.

Best of luck to the people of Syria.

[Bradical79]

10. Not exactly uncommon for revolutions

The only difference here is that most of the world can see these things happen through the internet.

[Vietnameravet]

11. Call me heartless

call me heartless but I don't feel the least bit upset about this...One of these animals was a sniper..who knows what the rest were..

So easy to sit in the comfort of your homes and in front of your computers and type on a keyboard and condemn others..but you have never seen your brother or father killed as he walked along the street only to have his head blown off by a cowardly sniper hidden in a tower nearby.
.
You have never had your family disappear and never heard from again or find them dead with their hands tied behind their backs ..or your family killed by a shell that explodes in their home fired by one of these monsters as you were preparing your evening meal or getting the kids ready for bed.

Easy to preach morality and justice when your family has never had this happen to them..So easy to preach justice and morality when it's not you or your family involved..

[Purveyor]

12. Back off sparky...I just posted the news article. Sorry if it upset you... eom

[tabasco]

13. Yep, it's a war.

The rebels would be better to handle prisoners decently, but the Syrian army massacred a lot of people.

[w4rma]

14. In most other cultures, this is what war is like. This is why it's best not to have war.

That said, it's also best not to have dictators (regardless of their perceived benevolency).

[Systematicexposure]

15. The rebels are Islamists, no credibility to begin with.

What moral ground did they have??? Most of the rebels are Islamists hell bent on destroying any real freedom the people had, and they most likely will also be willing to let any and all western corporations tread on in once Assad is ousted. Like in Libya, the west destroyed the schools that people enjoyed free, the hospitals that people enjoyed free etc etc then Libya needs huge loans to REBUILD WHAT THE WEST DESTROYED, this time there is no socialism!
Bla. The west should really stay outta the middle east militarily and work on our own problems like horrid educational systems, terrible health care, and outsourcing!