Syria: the horror of Homs, a city at war

Here is a film made from inside homs by a French photojournalist know as "Mani", ('Mani' is the pseudonym he has used to protect his identity) While the world has become used to grainy shaky and gruesome footage and images from Homs fed through whatever internet connection is available, Mani’s crystal clear and incredible footage gives perhaps the clearest and most frightening account of what Homs has been like for the past three weeks. I saw this lastnight and think it is a very powerful piece of filmmaking/jounalism. Please take the time to watch it all.

Shocking video, looks like absolute chaos going on. I just can't imagine it. It's all very complicated with the sectarian divisions going on. Not sure what the solution is. Should the rest of the world step in and do something or would that potentially make things worse?

reply to post by woodwardjnr

The big question I'd have is who we would go support exactly? Even our Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff recently challenged anyone to clearly identify just who the opposition is there.

I hate seeing what is happening in Syria and I hope this tips one way or the other soon to end the fighting. Neither side is going to be a pro-Western move by any means, any more than Libya or Egypt worked out that way so which side comes out on top doesn't matter to me. The less additional chaos and fighting in the world right now, the better though.

"Syria is a very different challenge" from Libya, where American-led NATO forces recently helped end the reign of dictator Muammar Gadhafi, Dempsey added. "It's a different challenge, as you described it, geographically. It's a different challenge in terms of the capability the Syrian military. They are very capable."

Dempsey also called plans to simply arm the opposition "premature."

"I would challenge anyone to clearly identify for me the opposition movement in Syria at this point," Dempsey said, adding that the crisis had grown increasingly complicated over the months.

Source

I do know they've been fighting in Homs there for over a year now, so it's hard to look at this in quite the same way as the handling of short notice / short term riots in other nations. This is a running, two sided street fight, it would seem.

reply to post by Wrabbit2000


Just a side issue. Do you think if say the US or UK had a serious revolution attempt they would try and crush it in the same way as the regimes of the middle east? I sometimes think they would.

reply to post by woodwardjnr

As much as I would sure hope they wouldn't? ....I can't think of a single indication I've seen in the last decade or so that suggests they wouldn't be as hard or worse than those we're seeing overseas. It makes the whole thing absurd doesn't it? Hypocritical doesn't really do the situation justice.