# Should the Syrian rebels bow to the inevitable in Aleppo? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [November 18, 2016, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-syrian-rebels-bow-to-the-inevitable-in-aleppo/772375 "2016-11-18T22:16:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2016, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-syrian-rebels-bow-to-the-inevitable-in-aleppo/772375/21 "2016-11-22T16:27:34Z")
> [@aldiboronti](#): > > And of course Assad isn’t going to set up internment camps. [Are you sure about that](https://www.hrw.org/report/2015/12/16/if-dead-could-speak/mass-deaths-and-torture-syrias-detention-facilities)? Assad is astute enough to recognize that he can get away with what he has been getting away with - Iraq and Viet Nam mean that Obama’s “red line” doesn’t mean anything, and [Hillary](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/hillary-clinton-syria-no-fly-zone-third-debate_us_58084280e4b0180a36e91a53) lost the election - we aren’t going to be shooting at any Russian jets just now. And Trump isn’t going to make it any better. Nothing can make it any better. You can call that pessimistic if you like. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2016, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-syrian-rebels-bow-to-the-inevitable-in-aleppo/772375/22 "2016-11-22T16:42:28Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > [Are you sure about that](https://www.hrw.org/report/2015/12/16/if-dead-could-speak/mass-deaths-and-torture-syrias-detention-facilities)? > > Assad is astute enough to recognize that he can get away with what he has been getting away with - Iraq and Viet Nam mean that Obama’s “red line” doesn’t mean anything, and [Hillary](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/hillary-clinton-syria-no-fly-zone-third-debate_us_58084280e4b0180a36e91a53) lost the election - we aren’t going to be shooting at any Russian jets just now. > > And Trump isn’t going to make it any better. Nothing can make it any better. You can call that pessimistic if you like. > > Regards, > Shodan I take your point but detention cells aren’t really internment camps. Unfortunately detention and torture are common throughout the Arab world, they’re not confined to Syria. Internment camps are something different, camps where whole sections of the populace are confined. Both certainly unpleasant but horses of a different color. And as for making it better I believe Assad’s victory would certainly make it better for the civilians of Aleppo. Not being bombed is far preferable to being bombed. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2016, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-syrian-rebels-bow-to-the-inevitable-in-aleppo/772375/23 "2016-11-22T17:25:30Z")
> [@aldiboronti](#): > > I take your point but detention cells aren’t really internment camps. Unfortunately detention and torture are common throughout the Arab world, they’re not confined to Syria. Internment camps are something different, camps where whole sections of the populace are confined. Both certainly unpleasant but horses of a different color. Maybe he wouldn’t bother with camps - Assad could just kill them, the way Saddam Hussein did the Iranians and [Kurds](http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/march/16/newsid_4304000/4304853.stm)who supported Iran, or drive them out of the country. > [@](#): > > And as for making it better I believe Assad’s victory would certainly make it better for the civilians of Aleppo. Not being bombed is far preferable to being bombed. Maybe you’re right. Do you think the rebels care? If anyone took anyone else’s best interests seriously, there wouldn’t be a war. Insert the Frog and the Scorpion story here. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2016, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-syrian-rebels-bow-to-the-inevitable-in-aleppo/772375/24 "2016-11-22T21:33:40Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > If anyone took anyone else’s best interests seriously, there wouldn’t be a war. > > Insert the Frog and the Scorpion story here. > > Regards, > Shodan You’re 100% right there. As you imply, it’s their nature. ---
**Author:** ![ganthet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de0a6/32.png) [@ganthet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ganthet)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2016, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-syrian-rebels-bow-to-the-inevitable-in-aleppo/772375/25 "2016-11-23T00:40:44Z")
> [@aldiboronti](#): > > You’re 100% right there. As you imply, it’s their nature. So now you are interested in assigning fault? ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2016, 10:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-syrian-rebels-bow-to-the-inevitable-in-aleppo/772375/26 "2016-11-23T10:19:02Z")
> [@ganthet](#): > > So now you are interested in assigning fault? You misunderstand the purport of my original post. I am perfectly willing to assign fault. But the fact is that in the end it doesn’t matter. It is what it is. ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2016, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-syrian-rebels-bow-to-the-inevitable-in-aleppo/772375/27 "2016-11-23T11:58:02Z")
> [@aldiboronti](#): > > You’re 100% right there. As you imply, it’s their nature. Whose? And what do you mean by “nature”? ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2016, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-syrian-rebels-bow-to-the-inevitable-in-aleppo/772375/28 "2016-11-23T12:18:26Z")
> [@MandaJo](#): > > Whose? And what do you mean by “nature”? Pick a card. And as for nature see **Shodan** ’s reference to the fable of the frog and scorpion above. ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2016, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-syrian-rebels-bow-to-the-inevitable-in-aleppo/772375/29 "2016-11-26T01:43:00Z")
I know the fable. I’m asking if you feel like Syrians are inherently, biologically, possibly even genetically prone to violent, self-destructive, irrational behavior? ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2016, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-syrian-rebels-bow-to-the-inevitable-in-aleppo/772375/30 "2016-11-26T14:32:23Z")
> [@MandaJo](#): > > I know the fable. I’m asking if you feel like Syrians are inherently, biologically, possibly even genetically prone to violent, self-destructive, irrational behavior? They probably are. They’re human beings, after all. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2016, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-syrian-rebels-bow-to-the-inevitable-in-aleppo/772375/31 "2016-11-26T16:24:29Z")
FWIW I’ve worked with many Syrians, back before the arab spring and they were kind to me and others. If they were secretly inhuman monsters that we therefore shouldn’t care about, none of that came across. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-syrian-rebels-bow-to-the-inevitable-in-aleppo/772375.md?page=1)