Syrian Rebels, a puzzle

[kpete]

http://www.truthdig.com/cartoon/item/syrian_rebels_20140923

[Man from Pickens]

1. Moderate Syrian Rebel Application Form

http://www.newyorker.com/humor/borowitz-report/moderate-syrian-rebel-application-form

[pampango]

2. All Arabs look alike? And most of them are bad anyway?

Why try to help "good guys" who are undoubtedly the vast majority of the Syrian population? It's easier to just say, "It's just too complicated. There are no guarantees of success. Let's just sit back and watch the battle between a violent, repressive government and violent, fundamentalist opposition fighters. What could go wrong?"

If the cartoon depicted African Americans or Asian Americans or Hispanic Americans in military garb, I doubt liberals would find the "Can you tell them apart?" question particularly amusing.

[Matrosov]

3. All Islamic fundamentalists are bad

These are just different names for the Syrian rebels, but the Syrian rebels are nothing but Islamic fundamentalists who've been trying to take over Syria since the 1960s. The idea that there are "peace-loving moderates" among them was floated by conservatives trying to push the American population into supporting the rebels against al-Assad.

[pampango]

6. All Christian fundamentalists are bad, too.

As much as Assad has tried to portray any opposition to him as "terrorists", since the popular protests started in 2011, that does not mean that everyone who does not love Mr. Assad is a fundamentalist terrorist.

[Comrade Grumpy]

4. Why do you think "the good guys" represent "the vast majority" of Syrians?

I recall a seasoned observer saying shortly after the rebellion began that about a third of Syrians supported the regime, about a third wanted regime change, and about a third wanted change but not at the price of civil war.

I can't imagine that popular support for the rebellion is growing--not after three years of brutal civil war.

Your "good rebels" of the FSA represent a fraction of a faction.

The Assad regime has significant popular support, even if it is brutal and authoritarian. Especially after three years of civil war. The alternatives don't look very attractive.

[pampango]

5. Syrians are like everyone else. The vast majority are good people who want a peaceful life,

raise a family, have a decent job, etc.

The alternatives don't look very attractive.

Indeed they don't. Which has been Assad's goal all along. No one ever said that he was not a smart, if brutal and authoritarian, man.

[m-lekktor]

7. first of all, the jihadist rebel groups listed above are not "all arabs"

the point is how in fuck does anyone determine which of these groups are moderate and which ones won't take the aid and weapons and turn against us? you are being purposefully obtuse by conflating these groups as ALL ARABS and then implying bigotry on the folks concerned with aiding and arming our possible future enemies as we have done in the past.