General Chat

eRRolSheep - when reading my post I noticed that and corrected it - thanks, nice to see you are paying attention :-)

OFITG did you mean to use the name Barabbas?

Surely you meant to say Bashar.

Barabbas means "son of the father".

Otherwise, I couldn't agree more with you.

I agree that David Cameron and William Hague are both exceptionally clever men and skilful politicians, well in my view they are certainly skilful at manipulating situations for their own political ends and are exceptionally clever at hoodwinking the public. That said what we need if there is any chance of resolving this issue peacefully is Statesmen not Politicians and in recent years Statesmen are few and far between.

David Cameron experience is limited, prior to being elected as Leader of the Conservative Party in 2005 he held a few positions as a member of the opposition from 2003 and the most senior of these was Shadow Education Secretary from 06 May 2005 to 06 December 2005.

William Hague has slightly more experience, he has held several positions as a Parliamentary Under-Secretary in various departments, he was also a Minister of State at the DSS and Secretary of State for Wales. After his dream of becoming Prime Minister was shattered, when the Conservatives lost the election in 2001, he returned to the backbenches where he remained until David Cameron became Leader of the Conservative Party in 2005 and appointed Hague to the position of Shadow Foreign Secretary.

Numerous very senior and better qualified politicians than David Cameron and William Hague plus many senior officers from the armed forces have voiced grave concerns about any attack on Syria, not least because it could actually end up making the situation in the Middle East even more volatile than it is at present.

No one can condone what is happening in Syria, it is repulsive and barbaric, that said I do think that before any decision is taken to use the military option that all other options are fully exhausted. I think it was Sir Winston Churchill who was reported in 1954 as saying at a White House function - To jaw jaw is always better than to war-war.

There is much at stake in the Syrian conflict and one thing that is very much at stake is the standing on the world stage of Barack Obama, David Cameron, and Vladimir Putin, none of them want to lose face by backing down on their current position. In my view the key player is Vladimir Putin. I am sure that these three world leaders if they all put the plight and suffering of the ordinary people in Syria above everything else they could come up with a solution where none of them lost face and one which would result in Bashar Assad the President of Syria stepped aside.

Alas from numerous reports that I have been following on Syria, our Prime Minister and our Foreign Secretary are giving me the impression that they are hell bent on launching a missile attack on Syria. This does worry me. I just hope and pray that they will not use the plight and suffering of the people in Syria as a way of trying to boost their chances winning the 2015 election - let's face it, so far here in the UK, they have used the poor, the vulnerable, the unemployed, and immigrants, to try and do that.

I think the Prime Minister must explain in detail to Parliament what actions he is proposing, the full facts as to why he believes that this is the only option available, and he must also publish in full any legal advice he has received in respect of the legality of military action, he should also allow a debate on the issue and a vote on his governments proposals.

Unfortunately our constitution is such that there is no obligation on him to do any of these things :-(

Thoughtful indeed Rollo and watch this space comes to mind.

I feel that Obama will launch his missiles and that Cameron
will follow behind as usual.

Emma

Thoughtful piece in today's Daily Blue

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/10266969/By-crossing-Obamas-red-line-Assad-has-forced-the-US-to-act.html

It certainly looks like some are losing patience.

Loads of obstacles put in their way and fear
this can only get worse.get the feeling other countries
waiting to pounce.

It certainly puts another slant on things Emma.

Although there was a supposed ceasefire in place to allow the inspectors to carry out their task it would seem that "somebody" (it is not clear where the shots came from) didn't want them to proceed.

I have never reported anyone and have no intention of
doing so,but some days I am sorely tempted.

Looks like you were right about the UN being shot at Errol.

Emma

I would just like to say that I am NOT responsible for reporting john's post about me.

Nudged for GHeather

These UN weapons inspectors are brave men and women. They must have realised they were in mortal danger trying to find the truth of allegations and counter allegations about these chemical atrocities near Damascus.

Convoy was shot at many times. One vehicle had to turn back but others got into area to do their work. No one has been killed or injured yet. But would you be that brave? Would I?

John I have no idea what you are laughing so much at and this is certainly not a thread for levity.

Maggieinwinchester I can't see that ever changing unfortunately

Strangely, in my job, with my humble pay, I'm not deemed capable of working from home - whether on holiday, off sick or waiting for a plumber.
Perhaps that's because I do my own job, whilst those 'in power', be it of a government or in higher management have their work done by poorly paid minions following the advice of overpaid consultants.

Still, to put on a 'good show' he needs to be seen to be in charge.

John please stop trying to get digs in - it was a valid comment because retaliation is a totally different ballgame and has a totally different meaning and there is no need to accuse anyone of pedantry.

It was not a case of correcting somebody, I felt that the word retaliation was inappropriate in this instance. Just because people disagree with you does not mean you are right or wrong.

As anyone who has seen or read any news over the past few days will be more than aware (so I hope I am not stating the obvious to anyone), Cameron is in Cornwall and is returning so that he can attend a meeting of the National Security Council and be better placed for decision making. I don't think that sitting on a beach in Cornwall is necessarily the best place to make decisions with global implications. lol

Very often the terms "goodies" and "baddies" are complete misnomers. Maybe more accurate terminology would be "those who serve our own selfish interests best" and "those who do not".

Well there's always that possibility Errol.

I just think it's so sad that people are against each other, they are all one country
but it seems they can't live together. Maybe different Religions have a lot to answer for but should we interfere ,its a big decision to make,I for one wouldn't like to do it

I think we all understood your point, AnninGlos. Absolutely no need to have been corrected or apologise imo. Just pedantry.

Wherever Cam is on holiday, I am sure he has his finger firmly on the pulse. Possibly a lot more effective in decision making whilst on holiday. And Hague will be enjoying his world statesman part currently. Whatever our politics, they are both exceptionally clever men who are skilful politicians. They will be lining up something to sweep them back into No 10 and Chequers and Chevening in 2015.

Helping the so called "goodies" in this dispute needs to be accompanied by some pretty clear UN policies of what trade-off is required for helping them to overthrow Assad regime.

Fantastic post re China, Rollo. You are teaching me a lot on this thread, and am very grateful for your knowledge and your clear explanations.

Emma - that is if they can even get close enough without being shot!

Now, could that be that somebody is worried about what they may find?

Ann - I totally agree.

I wonder if the UN will find any chemical evidence,
or has too much time elapsed.

Emma