dagblog - Comments for "Bashar Al-Assad Has More Popular Support than the Western-Backed “Opposition”:"

The people of the ME? Any

ocean-kat — Sun, 27 Dec 2015 02:37:05 +0000

The people of the ME? Any time there's the slightest liberalization of a ME society many if not most of the women grasp at it desperately. Until the men take it back.

That is such a flawed interpretation of what happened in Egypt that I can't believe even you believe it. Egypt's problem is there's probably as many people who support the Muslim Brotherhood, a Wahhabi off shoot, as support some liberalization of the society. Like so many problems there's really no compromise solution, no win/win, between them. Eventually one side will win and the other lose.

Lu, I understand your

Peter — Sun, 27 Dec 2015 00:12:52 +0000

In reply to Peter, my comparison was not

Lu, I understand your comparison but i don't accept it as a valid analogy. The Vietnamese were fighting foreign armies seeking their independence and not Western approved or dictated democracy.

The US is pushing for elections and Western secular democracy in Syria just without the dictator in control of the process. Those who use polls such as this and promote Assad as popular know that dictators never lose elections.

None of this will matter in the end because many of the people of the ME have seen that Western democracy has been a failure in the West and when Islamic thought came to power through fair and free democracy in Egypt it was crushed so they are returning to their roots of governance in Islam and rejecting the degenerate Western imposition.

It's a bit hard to compare

PeraclesPlease — Sat, 26 Dec 2015 20:07:27 +0000

In reply to That seems to be a pointless

It's a bit hard to compare Lincoln's efforts against slavery and national unity and deaths in a regular war on the battlefield, vs. Ho Chi Minh slaughtering people accused of being landowners while in custody. One might debate the morality of Lincoln's actions, but Ho's were simply murder, Stalin-style.

That seems to be a pointless

A Guy Called LULU — Sat, 26 Dec 2015 17:41:24 +0000

In reply to Ho Chi Minh wasn't venerated

That seems to be a pointless assertion. Abraham Lincoln led a war that created a bit of animosity too. I think there are even many who would claim he started it. In todays terms as used to demonize the last few foreign leaders we have attacked, Lincoln killed thousands of his own people.

Peter, my comparison was not

A Guy Called LULU — Sat, 26 Dec 2015 17:37:10 +0000

In reply to Making any comparison between

Peter, my comparison was not of Assad versus Ho. Rather, it was to compare the two situations where the US was/is against an important election in another war torn country and tried to prevent it because there was strong evidence that the winner would not be the one we wanted. I do not know enough about Ho Chi Minh to have a solid opinion of him personally but I admire him one step removed because I admire much about the Vietnamese people who followed him.

As to the accuracy of the poll I agree that it cannot be taken at face value to be definitive but only as one more piece of evidence.

Admiring him is dubious, but

Aaron Carine — Fri, 25 Dec 2015 00:57:34 +0000

In reply to I didn't even hint that Ho

Admiring him is dubious, but yeah, he did lead the resistance to French and American imperialism, and that is something. Perhaps the death toll was 200,000, but many people accept Bernard Fall's estimate of 50,000.

Good point, OK but this

Peter — Thu, 24 Dec 2015 23:28:40 +0000

In reply to You point is correct. Polls

Good point, OK but this series of polls is being used in trying to sell the notion that Assad is popular and would be elected and should be respected which is just more Western interference in the Muslim world IMO. This time it's the so called anti-imperialists and multipolar faction supporting the bloody dictator over his own people for their political reasons. The Russians and Iranians are also using this, the Syrian people should decide, BS for their own geopolitical agendas.

I didn't even hint that Ho

Peter — Thu, 24 Dec 2015 23:02:38 +0000

In reply to Ho Chi Minh wasn't venerated

I didn't even hint that Ho was a saint or infallible just a great and widely respected leader who led his people to victory against three world power's invasions and occupations. Assad is no such being just another appointed autocrat running the family business trying to cling to power by killing his own citizens, with the help of Iran and Russia.

Ho Chi Minh wasn't venerated

PeraclesPlease — Thu, 24 Dec 2015 21:42:37 +0000

In reply to Making any comparison between

Ho Chi Minh wasn't venerated by the 150-200,000 he slaughtered in the mid fifties as part of his resettlement program. Still a weak point in the let's litany of pet causes and leaders. How Chi Minh was an effective bastard. So is Assad. Votes are frequently crapshoots.

You point is correct. Polls

ocean-kat — Thu, 24 Dec 2015 21:08:12 +0000

In reply to Making any comparison between

You point is correct. Polls are often useful but cannot be simply taken at face value. But your point is also true for ISIL controlled areas. How likely would it be for someone in those areas to risk saying they support Assad?