An Inside Look at Muslim Death Squads in Syria

[NewsGuy]

Fascinating look at how the Muslims deal with each other. This is a piece on the Syrian death squads sent by their own people to deal with their own people. The organization is called the Shabiha in Syria. But this phenomenon exists widely in the Muslim world and is not unique to Syria. Check this out:

From news article:

Nine days ago, 108 people were butchered by the Shabiha in the town of Houla. The pro-Assad thugs went through the village, house to house, and slit the throats of anyone they came across – including 49 children. Exactly a week later, the Shabiha pulled 12 factory workers off a bus in the town of Qusayr, 40 miles to the south; tied their hands behind their backs, and shot them in the head.

[...]

The world is learning just how bloodthirsty the Shabiha can be. But inside Syria, their capacity for hideous brutality has long been known.
"Even before the revolution, any time there was unrest they would go out into the streets and stop it for the government," said Selma, who comes from a prominent Alawite family – a Shia Muslim sect, into which the Assad family was born, and to which almost all of the Shabiha belong. Her cousins are Shabiha.
"They would just break people's arms and legs. They would fight for Bashar to the death. It is natural – they have to defend their sect."
Her cousins wore civilian clothes, she explained – "then the television can say that these are just civilians who love Bashar."

[...]

"It is something in their religion that moves them. And state media is terrifying them that terrorists will kill them if Bashar falls from power," he said.
"The army gave my friend a gun, he started using it to shoot at the people in the demonstrations. The security forces gave him a special sense of identity."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worl...th-squads.html

[dayag]

I wouldn't want to be an Alawite in Syria after the evil Baathist regime there falls. I think we will see a whole nother round of massacres.

[NewsGuy]

Oh, yeah. There will be major hell to pay when there's a regime change. I can visualize it as a scene from a Quentin Tarantino movie where everyone's got a machete and hacking away at everyone else, blood spurting from everyone's throats, etc.

Good times in the Muslim world!

[dayag]

Really good article. The number of desertions from the Syrian army is accelerating.

The Syrian regime's troops are still able to attack insurgents almost anywhere and at any time, but they can no longer control the whole country, as the number of army defectors continues to grow. But the rebels dread the next stage of the conflict, when they expect President Assad to order his air force to attack.

http://www.spiegel.de/international/...-a-838188.html

If Assad does order air strikes, it will be time for NATO to declare a no-fly-zone.

[NewsGuy]

If Assad does order air strikes, it will be time for NATO to declare a no-fly-zone.

Doesn't look like it so far. I read today that Assad had his helicopters fire on residential buildings. No NATO in sight.

Instead, Russia announced that it will start calling on Iran to help solve the problem. That's probably enough to delay any Western military action in Syria for a long time.

[dayag]

Doesn't look like it so far. I read today that Assad had his helicopters fire on residential buildings. No NATO in sight.

Instead, Russia announced that it will start calling on Iran to help solve the problem. That's probably enough to delay any Western military action in Syria for a long time.

Having Iran help solve the problem of Syria murdering its own people is like asking a sailor who has just been at sea for six months to preach the virtues of chastity in a whorehouse.

[NewsGuy]

Exactly. Russia wants Assad to stay in power. What do they care about more than ten thousand dead Syrian civilians so long as Russia keeps its weapons sales going strong?

FWIW, today Hilary Clinton announced that Russia is sending Syria helicopters and demanded that Russia stop it. I'm sure the Russians were very impressed.

[wat0n]

Fascinating look at how the Muslims deal with each other. This is a piece on the Syrian death squads sent by their own people to deal with their own people. The organization is called the Shabiha in Syria. But this phenomenon exists widely in the Muslim world and is not unique to Syria. Check this out:

I think you are being unfair. Assad doesn't represent most Syrians.

[NewsGuy]

I think you are being unfair. Assad doesn't represent most Syrians.

Not sure what you mean. In what way is this unfair? Assad is the head of state in Syria...

[wat0n]

His rule isn't really legitimate, hence the current state of affairs there.

[kowalskil]

I think you are being unfair. Assad doesn't represent most Syrians.

I hope you are right.