Simple Steps to Resolve Syrian/MiddleEastern Crisis:
1. Remove the brutal secular dictator.
2. Find a secular dictator with heart as his replacement.
3. Defeat religious extremists.
4. Create a safe zone.
5. Return the refugees.
6. Find out that the the secular dictator turns out heartless.
Rinse and repeat Step 1.
You missed the out important step:
“Click your heels together three times.”
I think we all at times forget a basic fact about the troubles in Syria. At the heart of it is the Alawite/Shiite and Sunni clash that has been going on for centuries. And with Assad's Alawite/Shiite group being in the minority in Syria, that makes the Sunnis that much more unhappy.
I heard one commentator this week say that a saying of the Syrian Sunnis is: "Shiites to the wall, Christians to Lebanon." And, of course, Assad and his father haven't been too kind to the Sunnis.
Whatever else his happening in Syria, that old ancient clash is probably the biggest part of the civil war. I've no idea if a good solution is possible.
You got it. But some in this forum can’t see the obvious, or they are paid to be here to attack those of us who do see the obvious.
Anyone with a minimal understanding of history knew that Daddy Bush’s adventure in Kuwait would end us up in a quagmire. The same happens to anyone stupid enough to intervene in ME tribal conflicts. No matter what you do the situation gets worse.
Assad is not secular. He is Alawite muslim. He generally isn’t brutal either except against the more extreme elements who want to create a caliphate.
A secular replacement ruler with a ‘heart’ would not be accepted. You cannot maintain relative peace in Syria or anywhere in the region except Israel unless you’re an iron fisted 10th century bastard. Anything else is a Halmark movie.
“Defeat religious extremists.” You cannot defeat them unless you do what the Spanish did after throwing out the Moors.
So point 2 turns into “create a power vacuum. Fill it with some of the worst behavior in recorded history”. Waste more money and treasure. Lose the next election to Chelsea Clinton because Americans are too lazy and stupid to do anything but read an occasional CNN headline. Get frog marched to the nearest re-education camp.”