Who Wins If America Bombs Syria? [View all]

[OneAngryDemocrat]

Who wins if our leaders once again take our nation off to war?

Three distinct groups make up the rebel opposition to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad: First and foremost, there's the Free Syrian Army, a self-declared non-sectarian group of early army defectors. Sectarian or not, nothing stopped brigade leader Abu Sakkar from cutting out the heart of one of Bashar's soldiers and ritualistically eating part of it on video.

Secondly, there's The Syrian Liberation Front and the Syrian Islamic Front. Both of these two groups espouse an Islamist ideology and receive backing from the Muslim Brotherhood.

Lastly, there is Jabhat al-Nusra, to whom thousands of Free Syrian army fighters have apparently defected. Most recently, the group has pledged allegiance to Al-Qaeda.

Supporting the rebels, it would seem, would almost certainly lead to a despotic theocracy in an area overflowing with despotic theocracies if they were to succeed in overthrowing Syria's dictator.

Then there is the target of the rebels' righteous anger - Syria's dictator, President Bashar al-Assad: Bashar brutally suppressed peaceful protests in early 2011 which called for political reforms and an end to the state of emergency which has been in place since 1963.

This action in turn sparked Syria's current civil war, which has cost over 100,000 lives, according to a UN report. Last week, reports of between 500-1300 deaths due to sarin gas were attributed to forces loyal to the Al-Assad regime.

Clearly, Bashar is not someone Americans should look to for stability in the area.

To be sure, the ongoing humanitarian crisis should be addressed by the global community, but it is our belief that there is no compelling American interest in intervening militarily in the ongoing conflict in Syria.

The only winners in this war will be the world's arms manufacturers and Syria's local grave diggers.

If Syria's neighbors see fit to intervene, let them make that decision in consultation with their own consciences.

But in a concerted effort, local residents of both Illinois' 16th and 17th Congressional Districts - representing both Democrats and Republicans, conservatives and liberals - urge our elected officials to oppose any political position which would jeopardize American neutrality in the ongoing Syrian conflict.

We hear the drumbeat for war - but it is a song we know all too well and reject.


John Galbo, NILB,
Kari Humphrey, Green Party,
Brian Ziemer, Green Party,
Bill Weiss, OCCUPY Rockford,
David J Soll, coordinator for PDA Northern IL,
Carol Ahrens, PDA Northern IL,
Elizabeth Lindquistst, PDA Northern Illinois,
Rick Kurtz, Concerned Citizen,
Rob Roquet, RSOL,
Richard Gallatii, Concerned Citizen,
Tiffany Wiegartz, Concerned Citizen,
Brandon Wiegartz, Concerned Citizen,
Jessica Muelner, Concerned Citizen,
Sandra Elizabeth Lindquist, RSOL,
Janice Glyn-Gallagher, RSOL,
Rob Roquet, RSOL,
Diane Ekern, RSOL,
Karen Herwig Clarke, RSOL,
Joanne Penniston, RSOL,
Paul Engelbrecht, RSOL,
Robin Langenfeld, RSOL,
Rise M. Powers, RSOL,
Mike Schlossman, RSOL,
Brett Guenzler, independent conservative voter,
Allan Showers Local 150 IUOE,
Del Wasso, RSOL, AFSCME Local 817
Peter Thomas, Rockford Tea Party,
Tom Cravatta, Rockford Tea Party,
Tim Alderson, Rockford Tea Party,
Derek Walton, Rockford Tea Party,
Eric Sweet, Rockford Tea Party,
Judi Gouker, Rockford Tea Party,
Fred Gouker, Rockford Tea Party,
Gary Mousel, Rockford Tea Party,
Judy Castrey, Rockford Tea Party,
Joshua merritt, Rockford Tea Party,
Diane Lynn Kennicker, Rockford Tea Party,
Darin Bergland, Rockford Tea Party,
Mary Dagostino, Rockford Tea Party,
Bob Mlsna, Rockford Tea Party,
Paul Yttrie, Rockford Tea Party,
Jerry Olson, Rockford Tea Party,
Mark Edwards, Rockford Tea Party,
David Hale, Coordinator, Rockford Tea Party