In a region dominated by autocratic regimes, we dissect the unique position of Israel as the sole democracy and critically assess the international community's reaction—or lack thereof—to the Syrian civil war and Assad's oppressive regime. With comparisons to historical events like the fall of the Berlin Wall, we contemplate the potential future of the region. Through an unfiltered lens, we confront the harsh realities of Syria's tumultuous history under the Assad family, emphasizing the daunting path toward genuine democracy and human rights in the Middle East.
00:00:01.723 --> 00:00:15.423 You know, when people talk about the Middle East they're consumed about what's going on post the 7th of October, or if we had this conversation last year in September.
00:00:15.423 --> 00:00:21.571 It's about the unfair treatment that the Jews do against the Arabs.
00:00:21.571 --> 00:00:22.672 I mean it's ridiculous.
00:00:22.672 --> 00:00:37.609 But now in the news you're hearing that the world's savior in the Middle East is now Israel and that the Syrian regime is welcoming Israel's support, or maybe we're not sure.
00:00:37.609 --> 00:00:45.951 After World War I, france, acquired the mandate over the northern portion of what was the Ottoman Empire.
00:00:45.951 --> 00:00:52.731 It's a province of Syria, and French administered this until 1946.
00:00:52.731 --> 00:00:54.787 So that's where Syria came from.
00:00:54.787 --> 00:01:06.671 So I think it's important to understand where we're talking in the world and how it ever got there, because it didn't exist a thousand years ago like Israel.
00:01:06.671 --> 00:01:08.960 Welcome everybody to the Rant Network.
00:01:09.322 --> 00:01:24.844 This is a podcast, unfiltered, unapologetic discussion hosted by myself with David Solomon, or David Solomon with me, which I can just do that now, as we tackle a diverse range of topics with candid conversations and bold opinions.
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00:01:59.370 --> 00:02:08.599 David and I talk briefly in a green room, probably talk a little bit at evening once in a while, sparingly because we don't want to like blow up the phone waves.
00:02:09.122 --> 00:02:16.590 But really Syria is one of these misunderstood countries where people don't even know who runs Syria.
00:02:16.590 --> 00:02:25.086 You know, we know in the news where Assad regime gassed thousands of its you know citizens.
00:02:25.086 --> 00:02:28.310 It's on the shores or on the side of Turkey.
00:02:28.310 --> 00:02:35.108 It's been basically supported by Iran, right the axis of evil and Russia.
00:02:35.108 --> 00:02:44.115 Russia has two massive military bases, which is how it funnels weapons to, you know, hezbollah and Lebanon.
00:02:44.115 --> 00:02:57.622 You know Syria is not an innocent country with innocent civilians like Milwaukee or Kansas City or Detroit Well, maybe like Detroit, because it does seem like a war-torn country.
00:02:57.622 --> 00:03:12.888 But that's because the left doesn't really want you to understand the reality on the ground in a Middle Eastern country where democracy as we know it doesn't exist.
00:03:12.888 --> 00:03:27.355 And again, they want you to believe that there's a Democratic leader somewhere there, but the word Democratic is synonymous with I don't know terrorists, al-qaeda.
00:03:27.355 --> 00:03:30.161 I mean, I can't make this shit up, david.
00:03:30.161 --> 00:03:33.491 I know you were wondering what kind of intro I was going to give you to this one.
00:03:33.881 --> 00:03:40.572 No, but, stuart, you started off very well and I want to applaud you on that one, because what you laid out is completely forgotten.
00:03:40.572 --> 00:03:46.247 This vast of land known as the ottoman empire had no borders.
00:03:46.247 --> 00:04:09.746 It spread thinly across the middle east, from turkey, you know, turkey today through the middle east is what we know of, and when you look at the maps from the 19th century stewart okay, and mark twain and he famously went to this area aside from calling it, pardon you, he didn't call it this, but he basically called it a shithole I mean, like you couldn't understand who would live there.
00:04:09.746 --> 00:04:13.927 But when he went through this entire area, it was filled with tribes.
00:04:13.927 --> 00:04:27.730 It's tribal, and so the leaders that you saw that emerged in the 20th century thanks to the concept of divide and conquer by the British and the French, put tribal leaders as heads of the country.
00:04:27.730 --> 00:04:29.610 That was their way.
00:04:29.610 --> 00:04:34.276 That's what happened in Jordan, that's what happened in Syria, that's what happened in Saudi Arabia.
00:04:34.276 --> 00:04:35.197 It happened in other areas.
00:04:35.197 --> 00:04:45.211 It was not at all countries as you know it today, 200 years ago, you're not sure.
00:04:45.211 --> 00:04:45.834 Read a book by John Loftus.
00:04:45.834 --> 00:04:46.358 He will tell you all this.
00:04:46.358 --> 00:04:48.242 It's historic, but we forgot about it.
00:04:48.242 --> 00:04:50.187 We believe that countries have been around forever.
00:04:50.769 --> 00:04:54.146 We also believe Stuart said correctly that all countries are democratic.
00:04:54.146 --> 00:04:55.630 There's a democratic system.
00:04:55.630 --> 00:04:57.081 What a load of hogwash.
00:04:58.564 --> 00:05:11.985 There are less democratic countries than not because right now, if you look at what's going on in the Middle East, the only democracy in the Middle East and we will stress it for the millionth time here is Israel.
00:05:11.985 --> 00:05:35.627 Every other country around it might have a prime minister, may have a legislative branch, but, as we saw with Assad in Syria, what we've seen in Jordan, what we've seen in Egypt, what we've seen in Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries, is you have a leader, an autocratic leader, and a bunch of elitists who just execute what the leader wants.
00:05:35.627 --> 00:05:37.036 That's it.
00:05:37.036 --> 00:05:38.920 It's not democratic.
00:05:38.920 --> 00:05:44.228 Democratic in a one-party system is not democratic, please.
00:05:44.228 --> 00:05:50.076 You know they'll say oh, syria had a vote, one party system, 90 something percent of the vote went.
00:05:50.076 --> 00:05:50.858 Wait, come on.
00:05:52.663 --> 00:06:06.699 But let's, I'm sidetracking a little bit here, because what again we talked about this last week, stuart is that the world has ignored again that there has been a civil war in Syria for over a decade and that the world once again is ignored what Assad has done to his people.
00:06:06.699 --> 00:06:07.963 We talked about that last week.
00:06:07.963 --> 00:06:10.300 I will stress it again the world has chosen to ignore it.
00:06:10.300 --> 00:06:20.341 There's not one UN resolution, there's not one condemnation, there's not one boycott that sanctioned them, there's no movement in the university, there's no movement in the media, there are no politicians screaming for it.
00:06:21.535 --> 00:06:41.795 And lo and behold, stuart, last week, al-qaeda rebels let me remind you, terrorists who've been fighting this war with Assad for over a decade found their opening In 11 days.
00:06:41.795 --> 00:06:47.487 They took over the country because Assad, his power was eliminated, gone and, as you said, clearly, he's hiding in Russia right now with political asylum, thanks to Putin, him and his family.
00:06:47.487 --> 00:06:51.841 But Assad didn't even fire a shot, didn't even try to stop the rebels.
00:06:51.841 --> 00:07:07.297 He took off and as we wake this morning, people are saying look, according to Republican Congressman Joe Wilson from South Carolina, quote this is so significant the fall of the Assad dictatorship, the ripple effect of it is going to be remarkable.
00:07:07.297 --> 00:07:14.350 It's truly equivalent to the Berlin Wall, which led to ripple effect of dozens of countries becoming free after 50 years of occupation and totalitarian control.
00:07:14.350 --> 00:07:19.925 I'm calling a timeout, I'm throwing a yellow, I'm throwing my red flag on the field.
00:07:19.925 --> 00:07:22.903 Whoa, slow down.
00:07:22.903 --> 00:07:25.557 This is exactly what you said about Egypt.
00:07:25.557 --> 00:07:27.600 This is exactly what you said about Egypt In 2008,.
00:07:28.401 --> 00:07:32.586 Obama was excited because here was an opportunity 2009, 2010,.
00:07:32.586 --> 00:07:35.011 The Muslim Brotherhood took over Egypt.
00:07:35.011 --> 00:07:39.928 It was going to be the end of the Mubarak rule.
00:07:39.928 --> 00:07:46.288 It's going to be the fall of all these autocrats in the Middle East.
00:07:46.288 --> 00:07:48.494 Instead, it was the rise of greater terrorism.
00:07:48.494 --> 00:07:50.776 Instead, it was the rise of greater terrorism.
00:07:50.776 --> 00:07:52.177 Instead, it was the rise of greater problems within Egypt.
00:07:52.177 --> 00:07:59.062 Mubarak might have been an autocrat, no terrorist, terror-like leader but the terrorists that took over were even worse, and that's the fear.
00:07:59.081 --> 00:07:59.302 Today.
00:07:59.302 --> 00:08:01.764 In Syria, the devil you know is gone.
00:08:01.764 --> 00:08:04.586 The devil you don't know is taking over Stuart.
00:08:04.586 --> 00:08:07.449 In Afghanistan, we saw this with the Taliban.
00:08:07.449 --> 00:08:12.473 We've seen this with Hamas taking over in Gaza.
00:08:12.473 --> 00:08:16.579 We've seen what Hezbollah has done in Lebanon.
00:08:16.579 --> 00:08:18.583 This isn't exactly light, folks.
00:08:18.583 --> 00:08:20.447 This is not the Berlin Wall.
00:08:20.447 --> 00:08:22.817 Let's slow down.
00:08:22.817 --> 00:08:26.867 We might have a ripple effect, but it's not careful.
00:08:26.867 --> 00:08:38.222 The ripple effect will be more terrorists taking over countries and the notion of Sharia law will have a greater impact on that.
00:08:38.222 --> 00:08:43.374 In Afghanistan right now, they're taking away more rights from women.
00:08:43.374 --> 00:08:50.091 They've eliminated from women any opportunity to get an education, to no longer be doctors.
00:08:50.091 --> 00:08:52.272 It can't be OBGYNs.
00:08:52.272 --> 00:08:59.777 They've taken that away because a woman should be in the kitchen and in the bedroom making babies and serving their masters, the men.
00:08:59.777 --> 00:09:02.172 That's what you've got with the Taliban.
00:09:02.172 --> 00:09:08.105 If that's what's imposed in these countries, we're not going forward.
00:09:08.105 --> 00:09:11.232 We're going way backwards, and the world has to slow down.
00:09:11.232 --> 00:09:14.458 This is not yet a celebration.
00:09:14.458 --> 00:09:20.177 The change must be very cautious, but we can't celebrate just yet.
00:09:21.485 --> 00:09:29.460 You know, I just got to tell you that there's there's an organization LGBTQIA, for serious rights.
00:09:29.460 --> 00:09:39.460 You know, people, people I mean I can't begin to tell people you know of all walks of life.
00:09:39.460 --> 00:09:47.558 You know, and the word dreamer, which has been now used, synonymous with immigration.
00:09:47.558 --> 00:09:58.039 We should import this word into every walks of every group that we don't think has the same freedoms as we do, or they actually want it.
00:09:58.039 --> 00:10:07.259 You know, women in the broader sense the Middle East, outside of Israel, don't have women's rights.
00:10:07.259 --> 00:10:13.798 Hey, gay, lesbian rights don't exist outside of Israel.
00:10:13.798 --> 00:10:16.650 They live in fear.
00:10:16.650 --> 00:10:28.895 You know, I knew someone who was gay in Lebanese and fleed Lebanon to go to another country because he was found out as being gay and they wanted to stone the guy.
00:10:30.946 --> 00:10:40.360 I got to tell you our interpretation as to what is democracy and what democracy would look like in a Syria.
00:10:40.360 --> 00:10:44.749 I think you got to know where it comes from, you know.
00:10:44.749 --> 00:10:48.839 You know Syria united with Egypt in 1958.
00:10:48.839 --> 00:10:50.188 It's part of the Arab Republic.
00:10:50.188 --> 00:11:03.455 It's separated because of one of the bloodiest coups that the Assad family did in the 70s and has controlled this country with.
00:11:03.455 --> 00:11:20.769 The father would have been a brother and now it's the other brother for 50 years, not with a let's sort of get a consensus type government with an iron fist with a bullet with gas.
00:11:20.769 --> 00:11:26.500 It's the only country other than China to gas its own people.
00:11:27.784 --> 00:11:29.513 Now, why did I leave Germany out?
00:11:29.513 --> 00:11:36.493 Because they gas people they claim that weren't theirs, but Assad regime gassed its own people for dissension.
00:11:36.493 --> 00:11:50.777 I'm sorry, I know the Democratic Party in the United States would love to gas the mega guys, but you know people like Debbie Wasserman Schultz can't control the broader vote in this country.
00:11:50.777 --> 00:12:02.033 But here we are, a million miles away trying to talk about peace in a country with terrorists.
00:12:02.033 --> 00:12:13.658 And, david, I'm sorry, al Qaeda wasn't the monster that it is today, for the Americans abandoned them on the battlefield.
00:12:13.658 --> 00:12:24.910 So Al Qaeda's got a unique history that maybe we should actually talk about, because, yes, they are the tribal leaders, but those tribal leaders weren't looking for democracy.
00:12:24.910 --> 00:12:30.480 They were singled out and abandoned by American government and were laid to slaughter.
00:12:30.480 --> 00:12:45.498 Their vigilance towards the United States is really handed as, most of the time, when Americans get into the weeds as well as the Russians, who were decimated in Afghanistan as we were in Afghanistan.
00:12:45.498 --> 00:12:53.298 Right, the Western world, the communist world, does not understand the Middle Eastern world.
00:12:53.298 --> 00:12:55.004 That's my conclusion, david.
00:12:56.328 --> 00:13:09.191 Actually, the Soviets, or the Russians, whatever you want to call it knew exactly what they were doing, because their goal was to disrupt the Americans, to disrupt the Americans in the 50s and 60s and 70s.
00:13:09.191 --> 00:13:26.480 This was their goal and they succeeded by arming, if you think about it, in 1956, they helped Egypt, if you look at 1967, egypt, syria, jordan, armed by the Soviets, to go out and attack Israel.
00:13:26.480 --> 00:13:37.184 1973, egypt, syria Again, all the times that you look at in history, the idea was to disrupt the Soviets.
00:13:37.184 --> 00:13:40.635 The Soviets were trying to disrupt America via Israel.
00:13:40.635 --> 00:13:48.038 The Middle East has been a conduit, just like other areas, for the Soviets and now the Russians.
00:13:48.664 --> 00:13:52.635 Now what's interesting, stuart, is Russia is now kind of pulled out.
00:13:52.635 --> 00:13:54.270 They can't afford it.
00:13:54.270 --> 00:13:57.495 They don't have the resources now to go and afford it.
00:13:57.495 --> 00:14:05.027 Iran, which armed Hezbollah and sort of helped Syria, don't have the resources all of a sudden and sort of helped Syria Don't have the resources all of a sudden.
00:14:05.027 --> 00:14:16.448 So this ripple effect that you know, this Republican congressman who believes in, sorry, I mean Russia isn't going away.
00:14:16.448 --> 00:14:18.509 And I'll tell you something else.
00:14:18.509 --> 00:14:28.403 When people say, oh, this is a good thing, let me tell you, israel had to go and blow up a bunch of warehouses that housed chemical weapons.
00:14:28.403 --> 00:14:34.225 Yes, assad had chemical weapons in plenty of warehouses in Syria.
00:14:34.225 --> 00:14:47.706 Okay, number two there is a demilitarized zone between Israel and Syria that has actually surprisingly been okay and let's's put it in quotation marks respected for 50 years.
00:14:47.706 --> 00:14:49.663 It was put into effect in 1974.
00:14:49.663 --> 00:14:52.918 And they have not had no one's crossed the border.
00:14:52.918 --> 00:15:01.767 The Syrian army that was occupying that whole area to block its side of the border took off Vacated.
00:15:01.767 --> 00:15:01.988 Yeah.
00:15:03.094 --> 00:15:04.639 And Israel took it yep.
00:15:04.929 --> 00:15:06.417 Israel had to go in to block it.
00:15:06.417 --> 00:15:08.677 So we are not out of the woods yet.
00:15:08.677 --> 00:15:16.678 No, and I think that at this point, stuart, what you said about al-Qaeda pissing off on the United States and all that same thing with the Taliban in Afghanistan.
00:15:16.678 --> 00:15:18.134 Same thing in Iraq.
00:15:18.134 --> 00:15:29.575 Same thing the United States abused the locals and then pulled out, and now you've got a situation where israel cannot afford another border war.
00:15:29.595 --> 00:15:35.613 Yemen, the houthis continue to fire rockets, hezbollah continues to fire rockets, got in.
00:15:35.613 --> 00:15:37.416 Hamas is continuing to fight with israel.
00:15:37.416 --> 00:15:39.941 It's not over yet.
00:15:39.941 --> 00:15:45.600 So let's not all pull out the white doves and let's not all create this peace concept and whatever.
00:15:45.600 --> 00:15:51.840 There's still a lot to do and we need to be patient and understanding.
00:15:51.840 --> 00:15:54.475 However, with this I'm going to.
00:15:54.475 --> 00:16:13.245 However, this whole thing, I have to agree with Joe Biden and I know this is like a shocking thing, but he made a statement saying that Iran made a mistake, inflicting a war on Israel through Hamas, through Hezbollah, through the Houthis.
00:16:13.245 --> 00:16:22.636 Iran never could have imagined the damage and the repercussions of this action, that shocking story.
00:16:22.636 --> 00:16:25.495 I have to agree with Joe Biden Iran made a mistake.
00:16:26.876 --> 00:16:29.450 And that brings us to a close of another episode Of the Rant Network.
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00:16:59.746 --> 00:17:04.159 Until next time, keep the Rams passionate discussion vibrant and the ideas flowing.
00:17:04.159 --> 00:17:06.030 Take care, we'll see you soon, david.
00:17:06.030 --> 00:17:10.241 Any last gestures you would like to send out to our audience today?
00:17:10.930 --> 00:17:12.556 Ladies and gentlemen, let's just hope.
00:17:12.556 --> 00:17:20.641 Let's just hope this is the dawn of a new age, a better age, because I think we're all fed up with what's going on in the world.
00:17:20.641 --> 00:17:23.593 But maybe we'll have to wait until January 20th.
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