"The whole Middle East is a territorial dispute."
I don't agree - the Arab Spring is an entirely different ball-game and one from which we could all benefit in terms of improving the situation there.
If it is mishandled there is a risk of the newly ruled states being pushed into the hands of the religious nutters (one of the reasons the Question Time panel gave for not getting involved).
Yesterday's Times article points directly to that fact:
"THE PEOPLE OF THE WORLD HAVE ABANDONED US. NOW WE JUST ASK GOD FOR HELP"
My comments on a trade embargo were aimed at The West in general, not Britain alone; to repeat
"The EU is the first trading partner for Syria with total trade amounting to approximately €7.18 billion in 2010. Although the EU–Syrian bilateral trade volume contracted in 2009 by almost 23% in account of the impact of the global crisis, the 2010 trade volume already surpasses the 2008 one. The EU is Syria's biggest trade partner covering 22.5% of Syrian trade while Syria ranks 50th for the EU."
"I haven't been snotty with you, so shove it.
And I haven't been snotty with you - not intentionally anyway; if that is the way my difference with you has come across, apologies.
While I certainly don't agree with you I have always been left with the impression that you listen to and respond to what others have to say - sadly lacking elsewhere.
Jim Carroll