Saudi minister says Syrian rebels should get surface-to-air missiles

[Independent voter]

I know many are anti Saudi on MMO-C, Germans have proposed a no-fly zone in Northern Syria so it's not so different. Personally, I think it might be a bit late for moderate Syrian Sunnis.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mi...-idUSKCN0VS28D

Moderate Syrian rebels should be supplied with surface-to-air missiles to defend against air strikes, Germany weekly Der Spiegel quoted Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir as saying.

The rebels are under attack from both the Syrian air force and Russian strikes. Jubeir said providing them with the rockets would "enable the moderate opposition to neutralize the regime's helicopters and planes".

Al-Jubeir repeated his calls for Syrian president Bashar al-Assad to step down in order to enable a political solution to the five-year-long war.

"The other option is that the war goes on and Assad is being defeated," al-Jubeir said.

At least 250,000 people have been killed, 11 million made homeless and hundreds of thousands have fled to Europe since the conflict began in 2011.

Riyadh was still ready to support the U.S.-led coalition against the militant group Islamic State (IS) with special forces on the ground, he said.

Al-Jubeir rejected any similarities between the Islamist extremist group and Saudi-Arabia's national, conservative interpretation of Islam, the Wahhabism.

"IS is about as Islamic as the Ku-Klux-Klan is Christian," al-Jubeir said.

[Hooked]

Yeah that's what we want a bunch of terrorist with anti aircraft missles. The Saudi minister is a fool. The more information come out, the more Saudi Arabia becomes a liability for the usa.

[PACOX]

Can we say hell no?

I doubt the rebels actually ran them because they know that would paint a target on their backs for groups like ISIS.

Can we break up with the Saudi's already?

[Elim Garak]

I get what he is saying. Ku-Klux-Klan is indeed Christian.

[HumbleDuck]

Arming some untrained civilians with high tech anti aircraft missiles, that seems very smart, surely ISIS will never be able to push these civilians out and grab the missiles.
Saudi just wants overthrow Asad, and they are actively arming and financing exterimisists for that purpose. Its just a new plot to arm extremisists.

[Deleted]

"Moderate"

[Alydael]

The Mid East region has been at war in some capacity for thousands of years (back to biblical times). We should really have nothing to do with that place. Let it self destruct on its own, believe me, it will. I know some people feel we have to be involved because we buy oil..... why can't it just be a business relationship and that's that?

I know others say we have to get the terrorists, but they hide in hospitals and children's schools (like the cowards they are). Are we going to blow up every hospital and school? At this point, we can just send in a drone with missles to hit their camps, why be involved further? With each story I read about the mid east, I become more convinced that we should just pull out and have nothing to do with that place at all. It is a waste of lives (our soldiers) time and resources.

Also, why are we friends with the Suadis? A bunch of "royalty" that live in palaces while their people starve in the street? That, to me, is as un american as it gets. It was so bad that they had to just give money from their fortunes to their people so that the people could buy food. That is pathetic. There is no good in the Mid East, it will only continue to drag us down as long as we are dumb enough to be involved in it. Russia warned us (based on their past experiences in Afghanistan) that it was a quagmire. We didn't listen, seems Russia was right on this one.

[Deleted]

Does anyone really believe in a political solution for that place?
In my opinion this only ends by total annihilation of one side or more precisely the kurds, ISIS and the rebels.
Assuming that Turkey and Assad/Russia don't fight over the ashes afterwards there is no way any of those 2 parties will be defeated.

The Mid East region has been at war in some capacity for thousands of years (back to biblical times). We should really have nothing to do with that place. Let it self destruct on its own, believe me, it will. I know some people feel we have to be involved because we buy oil..... why can't it just be a business relationship and that's that?

I know others say we have to get the terrorists, but they hide in hospitals and children's schools (like the cowards they are). Are we going to blow up every hospital and school? At this point, we can just send in a drone with missles to hit their camps, why be involved further? With each story I read about the mid east, I become more convinced that we should just pull out and have nothing to do with that place at all. It is a waste of lives (our soldiers) time and resources.

The problem is that ISIS influences us even if they would stop suicidebombing our cities after we pulled out by pushing several million people into our countries.
Of course there is an easy solution for it (like for everything) but morals and PCbullshit keeps us from actually making use of them.

[GrinnersGrin]

Give nukes to Iran and Syria imo

[muto]

The Mid East region has been at war in some capacity for thousands of years (back to biblical times). We should really have nothing to do with that place. Let it self destruct on its own, believe me, it will. I know some people feel we have to be involved because we buy oil..... why can't it just be a business relationship and that's that?

I know others say we have to get the terrorists, but they hide in hospitals and children's schools (like the cowards they are). Are we going to blow up every hospital and school? At this point, we can just send in a drone with missles to hit their camps, why be involved further? With each story I read about the mid east, I become more convinced that we should just pull out and have nothing to do with that place at all. It is a waste of lives (our soldiers) time and resources.

Also, why are we friends with the Suadis? A bunch of "royalty" that live in palaces while their people starve in the street? That, to me, is as un american as it gets. It was so bad that they had to just give money from their fortunes to their people so that the people could buy food. That is pathetic. There is no good in the Mid East, it will only continue to drag us down as long as we are dumb enough to be involved in it. Russia warned us (based on their past experiences in Afghanistan) that it was a quagmire. We didn't listen, seems Russia was right on this one.

No it won't. It's one of the harshest places in the world to live, and they've survived there for thousands of years. I agree we shouldn't be over there, as you pointed out, they've always been engaged in some sort of war, but it will not self destruct.

[xChurch]

I'd really love for them to point out exactly who the "moderates" are in that clusterfuck of a hellhole.

[Alydael]

Does anyone really believe in a political solution for that place?
In my opinion this only ends by total annihilation of one side or more precisely the kurds, ISIS and the rebels.
Assuming that Turkey and Assad/Russia don't fight over the ashes afterwards there is no way any of those 2 parties will be defeated.



The problem is that ISIS influences us even if they would stop suicidebombing our cities after we pulled out by pushing several million people into our countries.
Of course there is an easy solution for it (like for everything) but morals and PCbullshit keeps us from actually making use of them.

Well, we don't have to be dumb enough to let those people in. At this point, how would you (or anyone) define "victory" in the Mid East? Wiping out terrorism? Not going to happen. Terrorism can be any single individual with a gun or home made bomb, you won't stop them all. Defeating ISIS? How would you define that? Take back all the cities? OK, they will still hide in caves, camps and in the desert. And, it will only take one of them with a bomb to execute an attack, how can you stop that? At this point, we are just bleeding lives and resources over there and we won't accomplish much of anything.

Personally, I think we should pull out totally (trade and everything), I would even shut down the embassies. Just buy the oil we can't supply otherwise and have nothing else to do with the place. If we find a terrorist camp- we bomb it by air. That's it, they can destroy themselves- no need to go down as part of that ship.

[Deleted]

I'd really love for them to point out exactly who the "moderates" are in that clusterfuck of a hellhole.

Seeing is coming from Saudi arabia one of the biggest exporters of violent islam (Wahhabism) i recon its anyone with their twisted view of the world.

[announced]

we should give the rebels a few nukes that accidentally detonate on arrival. problem solved. no more rebels.

[Notchris]

I know many are anti Saudi on MMO-C, Germans have proposed a no-fly zone in Northern Syria so it's not so different.

It's not even close to the same thing. A NFS would be enforced by other nations and could be ended or strengthened by said supporting nations, where as this guy just said "Fuck it! Give these "moderates" SAMs to use on their enemies!" There's no way to guarantee they aren't turned on us when they turn out to be less then moderate or if taken by ISIS.

Just a batshit crazy idea.

[Nadiru]

Man, not even the CIA is YOLO enough to give the rebels MPADS. Makes sense though, the only way the Saudis can plausibly make the price of oil go up is through a massive Middle Eastern war. If this were 1980. Unfortunately, it's [the current year] and the price of oil has been knocked out of OPEC's grungy hands again

[Independent voter]

One point is the Syrian Sunnis are ethnically and culturally related to Saudis who are Arabs and Sunnis too. I think they see Assad, Iran, other Shiites and the Russians as attacking their people.

Russians have done the same in Eastern Ukraine to protect the Russian ethic minority there. You hear stories or watch the news and see your people abused it pisses you off.

[Crispin]

He must be high.

[Hif]

You want to give terrorists Surface to Air Missiles?

What the fuck? You want a repeat of Afghanistan and the Taliban?

[Elim Garak]

One point is the Syrian Sunnis are ethnically and culturally related to Saudis who are Arabs and Sunnis too. I think they see Assad, Iran, other Shiites and the Russians as attacking their people.

Russians have done the same in Eastern Ukraine to protect the Russian ethic minority there. You hear stories or watch the news and see your people abused it pisses you off.

You do know that "Arabs and Sunnis" is equivalent to "Europeans and Orthodox", right? It is in no way the same as Eastern Ukraine ordeal. Because Ukrainians are ethnically and culturally related to Russians, so its like Arabs/Sunnis attacking Arabs/Sunnis.