"Jim, you have become just another sabre rattling Colonel Blimp "
No Keith - you were the first on your feet to give support to the US's invasion of another countries sovereign territory in order to carry out a political assassination, at the risk of hundreds of civilian lives.
You were full of praise when Britain went in to assist the Libyan rebels, even though they had already sold Gadaffi some of the munitions that were being used against the opposition (and the British army had trained Gadaffi's son to take his place)
Here you have opposed helping the Syrian people who are suffering ten times the atrocities that the Libyan rebels experienced - and your reason - it would be unwise to do so because of who they might put in Assad's place.
Far from me sabre rattling, I am proposing that some practical help be given to the Syrians in order to stop stop the massacres that even you opened a thread about. I am also pointing out that, had the West's oil supplies been in any way threatened there would be no hesitation whatever in giving that help. God knows - the US has done it before now - the last time with Britain's full support and with a loss of young British lives.
I don't want Britain, the US or anybody to go "storming in" - as you put it; I want practical help to be offered in order to topple this monster and bring him to trial for crimes against humanity - at the very least, refugee camps to be set up.
I proposed an embargo against all trade with Syria - your response; "it would harm the Syrian people" AS IF THEY COULD BE HURT ANY MORE THAN THEY ARE ALREADY BEING HURT. SO FAR THE ONLY PRACTICAL ASSISTANCE YOU HAVE SUGGESTED IS THAT ASSAD BE SOLD ANTI-RIOT EQUIPMENT IN THE HOPE THAT HE WILL STOP USING HEAVY ARTILERY AGAINST THE CIVILIANS BEING SLAUGHTERED - UTTERLY OBSCENE BULLSHIT
And your pathetic "Your country" attempt to silence my right to offer an opinion.
I was born and brought up in Britain and lived there for over half a century, my parent and their parents were the same - British born and raised
Your attempt to neutralise my criticism of your obscene and hypocritical stance on Syria by bringing up my choice to move to Ireland to finish the 30-odd years of recording the Irish oral tradition we did here really exposes the shallowness and hypocricy of your arguments and the small minded, flag-waving Little Brit that you really are.
Jim Carroll