Syrian defense minister killed in suicide blast

"they are fearful that Syria will become another Iraq, with Christians caught in the crossfire between rival Muslim groups."

I'd say they already are in the crossfire.

Perhaps Comical Ali can weigh in with the today's pro-Assad propaganda?

I believe "chemical Ali" ended up with a noose around his neck! I don't think anyone will shed a tear for the Syrian Defense Minister. That scumbag butcher is better off dead and it's too bad the blast didn't flush more to hell! The faster the ruling party is toppled the faster peace will come.

Free Syria!

For years al Qaida flowed over the Syrian border to wreak havoc inside Iraq. Now it seems they are flowing back from Iraq into Syria on their deadly dirty business.

Still, the Syrian regime are also using non-uniform shabiha to do their dirty murderous work, so it's a real mess. The general population will surely suffer more and more from now on.

This was an act of terrorism.

Had this happened in any Western country it immediately would have been labelled as such.

I personally will never support or condone terrorism in any form.

and several massive suicide attacks this year suggest al-Qaida or other extremists are joining the fray.

So is Al-Qaida going to join the peace plan? Is that the brilliant plan to stop all this? If Kofi Annan can get Al-Qaida to attend peace negotiations I'll take back all the nasty stuff I said about him.

Until then, the Syrians are entitled to route them out and hunt them down.

His death will resonate with Syria’s minority Christian population, who make up about 10 percent of Syria’s population and have generally stood by the regime.

Not only the Christians but most secular Muslims in Syria support the government as well since this government has been generally tolerant, allowing various religious and the non-religious to live as they see fit.

The rebels,considering their suicide bomber tactics, probably won't be so tolerant.

In a civil war, it is difficult to distinguish between terrorism and an act of war.

Especially as this is a military target.

"I personally will never support or condone terrorism in any form."

Wouldn't you think it's fair to say you have condoned Assad's state sponsored terrorism for the past 15 months?

Had this happened in any Western country it immediately would have been labelled as such.

Well Western countries aren't in the habit of bombing their own people into pieces, so I suppose we'll just have to live with hypotheticals. But it would be like debating semantics if Obama ordered the death of 20,000 innocent Americans. I don't know if anyone who would support Obama killing 20,000 innocent Americans. No one would.

Governments that use military force on children get what they asked for.

About an hr ago, President Obama called Russian PM Putin and no details have been released.

@SuperLib

" Western countries aren't in the habit of bombing their own people into pieces, so I suppose we'll just have to live with hypotheticals"

I'm not sure that's relevant. (Is their a moral distinction between bombing your own people and bombing others?) The issue is surely the targeting. Terrorist activities are defined by their targeting of innocents with the intent to cause fear among the general population. If, as described, the targets were military personnel, then surely it is not a terrorist act. That definition neither justifies nor condemns the action. But the UK was always quick to describe IRA actions against UK military personnel as terrorist actions. And I know there are those in the USA who would make comparisons between the Syrian government and the UK government.

@Ronald F Stark

"The faster the ruling party is toppled the faster peace will come."

Sadly, I fear that history doesn't support this idea. "toppling" generally leads to continued violence. Constructive change is usually more effective.

Oops.

their = there

But it would be like debating semantics if Obama ordered the death of 20,000 innocent Americans.

You're apparently claiming that someone in Syria ordered the death of 20,000 people.

This is quite the wild accusation. Do you have any evidence whatsoever of this?

Especially as this is a military target.

Technically the Defense minister is a political, not a military target. Like in most Western countries, the Defense minister is not a member of the armed forces, he's a politician.

I'm curious if posters on this board who are cheering this suicide tactic would feel the same if an Afghani were to blow himself up in the White House, targeting US defense staff. Would that be considered a legitimate act of war? Somehow I doubt it.

Wouldn't you think it's fair to say you have condoned Assad's state sponsored terrorism for the past 15 months?

What credible evidence do you have of any state sponsored terrorism?

There seems to be a steady trend of certain poster who just dish out wild accusations without any evidence at all.

"Suicide blast".... the hallmark of jihadist martrs.

Here we have another secular Arab dictatorship (the last Baaht party country) under attack Muslim Brotherhood led islamist radicals. And who do our idiot politicians and media support? .....yep, the islamist.

As if all the other Shariah winter disasters in the region have not tought them a thing.

My heart goes out the the Syrian Christians, Alevites, Druzes and others, who now look at the prospect to live an yet another muslim Brotherhood led Shariah hellhole.

It is truly infuriating.

The purpose of terror is to instill fear into the general population.

This attack was a success in that the Christians in Syria are no living in absolute fear of their lives and their future.

I worry that if the government collapses, reprisals on the Christians will be horrible.

NeverSubmit: You're apparently claiming that someone in Syria ordered the death of 20,000 people. This is quite the wild accusation. Do you have any evidence whatsoever of this?

I can deduce what is going on. It's not very difficult. I know you prefer the "mainstream media" and have posted a couple of links recently, but that's your choice. One can easily realize what the truth is if it's right in front of their face.

NeverSubmit: Not only the Christians but most secular Muslims in Syria support the government as well

How can you possibly know that? Are you in Syria right now? No one can possibly speak for the Syrian people and tell with 100% certainty what is going on. If you have links to support your position I'd like to see them, otherwise you're guessing wildly with no proof whatsoever.

This has to be an insider job since this is Assad's inner circle.

The inner circle has been breached.

Along with more and more high Syrian officials defecting and with the capital city under siege, there's less and less officials believe how long the regime can hold on.