SYRIA

theballz

Anyone else feel the US need to be held more accountable for what has happened over there?

The Syrian civil war has wiped out hundreds of thousands of life’s. The electrical grid is only partially available and power supply is poor.

I personally think the whole situation over there is so sad and has led to many refugees fleeing the country and ultimately let to a rise in Islamic terrorist groups.

It’s pretty terrible that the country is left in such a difficult position

ulster

theballz wrote: »

Anyone else feel the US need to be held more accountable for what has happened over there?

The Syrian civil war has wiped out hundreds of thousands of life’s. The electrical grid is only partially available and power supply is poor.

I personally think the whole situation over there is so sad and has led to many refugees fleeing the country and ultimately let to a rise in Islamic terrorist groups.

It’s pretty terrible that the country is left in such a difficult position

Don't worry....they always have the option of Direct Provision.

Odhinn

theballz wrote: »

Anyone else feel the US need to be held more accountable for what has happened over there?

The Syrian civil war has wiped out hundreds of thousands of life’s. The electrical grid is only partially available and power supply is poor.

I personally think the whole situation over there is so sad and has led to many refugees fleeing the country and ultimately let to a rise in Islamic terrorist groups.

It’s pretty terrible that the country is left in such a difficult position

Can't see what the US would be held accountable for, anymore than Turkey, the Gulf states and Russia.

kildare lad

theballz wrote: »

Anyone else feel the US need to be held more accountable for what has happened over there?

The Syrian civil war has wiped out hundreds of thousands of life’s. The electrical grid is only partially available and power supply is poor.

I personally think the whole situation over there is so sad and has led to many refugees fleeing the country and ultimately let to a rise in Islamic terrorist groups.

It’s pretty terrible that the country is left in such a difficult position

If they haven't been held accountable for the illegal invasion of iraq then nothing's gonna happen in syria . America and israel get away with war crimes , if any other country done what they did there'd be uproar

biko

Many countries chose sides in the initial internal conflict and made matters worse instead of letting them sort things out themselves.
Not only US, but Russia, Iran, Turkey, Israel and others.

suicide_circus

It became clear years ago that if you have a despotic regime committing wholesale abuses and atrocities against their own population, all the rest of the world can really do is sternly tut tut from the sidelines.

It's also worth noting that what we today know as 'democracy' is a very very new experiment and really the jury is still out on it's success.

kildare lad

suicide_circus wrote: »

It became clear years ago that if you have a despotic regime committing wholesale abuses and atrocities against their own population, all the rest of the world can really do is sternly tut tut from the sidelines.

It's also worth noting that what we today know as 'democracy' is a very very new experiment and really the jury is still out on it's success.

Maybe some cultures do better with democracy than others. It's a bit naive of the US foreign policy to bring freedom and democracy to the middle east where a tribal and religious way of life has ruled for thousands of years .

Signore Fancy Pants

The Syrian civil war is a regional issue, the US have only exploited it rather than caused it.

I'm not quite sure you are up to speed with it, your OP is a bit far off the mark.

jimmycrackcorm

theballz wrote: »

Anyone else feel the US need to be held more accountable for what has happened over there?

The Syrian civil war has wiped out hundreds of thousands of life’s. The electrical grid is only partially available and power supply is poor.

I personally think the whole situation over there is so sad and has led to many refugees fleeing the country and ultimately let to a rise in Islamic terrorist groups.

It’s pretty terrible that the country is left in such a difficult position

The person accountable is Bashar Assad.

jimmycrackcorm

jimmycrackcorm wrote: »

The person accountable is Bashar Assad.

Considering who rocked up in that conflict, he looks like Santa

theballz

kildare lad wrote: »

Maybe some cultures do better with democracy than others. It's a bit naive of the US foreign policy to bring freedom and democracy to the middle east where a tribal and religious way of life has ruled for thousands of years .

Excellent post.

Kivaro

theballz wrote: »

Anyone else feel the US need to be held more accountable for what has happened over there?

The US had nothing to do with the Syrian civil war. Obama was in power when it kicked off and I well remember the warning by a respected analyst of the region who stated publicly that if the US did not get involved early, then it would not only end as a catastrophe for the region, but the whole world. That was back in 2011, and he was certainly correct about the knock-on effects of the war.

Could not blame Obama for not supporting the rebels militarily at the time, even though we all wanted him to. The Syrian people suffered immensely and it is a travesty that we do not have a functioning UN or other world organisation to solve these types of problems.

igCorcaigh

Kivaro wrote: »

The US had nothing to do with the Syrian civil war. Obama was in power when it kicked off and I well remember the warning by a respected analyst of the region who stated publicly that if the US did not get involved early, then it would not only end as a catastrophe for the region, but the whole world. That was back in 2011, and he was certainly correct about the knock-on effects of the war.

Could not blame Obama for not supporting the rebels militarily at the time, even though we all wanted him to. The Syrian people suffered immensely and it is a travesty that we do not have a functioning UN or other world organisation to solve these types of problems.

Rebels?

Islamist terrorists poured in from the world over.
Instead of helping defeat these ´rebels´, the US supported them and that led the war to be dragged out far longer than it should have.

Of course, that's a simplistic analysis that will rightly be challenged; the Syrian war will be the topic for many of book for years to come, with many varying viewpoints.

(I wonder who is this ´we´ you speak of.)

Kivaro

igCorcaigh wrote: »

Rebels?

Islamist terrorists poured in from the world over.
Instead of helping defeat these ´rebels´, the US supported them and that led the war to be dragged out far longer than it should have.

Of course, that's a simplistic analysis that will rightly be challenged; the Syrian war will be the topic for many of book for years to come, with many varying viewpoints.

(I wonder who is this ´we´ you speak of.)

You might be confused. Islamist terrorists arrived a good bit later and I specifically mentioned the early stages of it. The civil war started in March 2011 when "pro-democracy demonstrations erupted in the southern city of Deraa, inspired by the Arab Spring in neighbouring countries". (From the BBC). I can assure you that there were no Islamist terrorists taking part in these pro-democracy demonstrations. I remember watching these demonstrations live and many of them had a music/celebratory atmosphere until the Assad regime started their brutal crackdown.

igCorcaigh

Kivaro wrote: »

You might be confused. Islamist terrorists arrived a good bit later and I specifically mentioned the early stages of it. The civil war started in March 2011 when "pro-democracy demonstrations erupted in the southern city of Deraa, inspired by the Arab Spring in neighbouring countries". (From the BBC). I can assure you that there were no Islamist terrorists taking part in these pro-democracy demonstrations. I remember watching these demonstrations live and many of them had a music/celebratory atmosphere until the Assad regime started their brutal crackdown.

Yes, you are correct.
Deraa is also the city where Assad's father slaughtered a whole town in a previous uprising.

I was more referring to what happened later. Apologies for misunderstanding your point.

kildare lad

Kivaro wrote: »

The US had nothing to do with the Syrian civil war. Obama was in power when it kicked off and I well remember the warning by a respected analyst of the region who stated publicly that if the US did not get involved early, then it would not only end as a catastrophe for the region, but the whole world. That was back in 2011, and he was certainly correct about the knock-on effects of the war.

Could not blame Obama for not supporting the rebels militarily at the time, even though we all wanted him to. The Syrian people suffered immensely and it is a travesty that we do not have a functioning UN or other world organisation to solve these types of problems.

Would these be the same analysts that said iraq had WMD , america is doing all the saudi and israels dirty work for them. Get rid of saddam , country goes to shxt, get involved in syrian civil war , does nothing but prolong the bloodshed, get rid of gaddafi , country turns to shxt as well . The funny thing about libya is, the rebels that the yanks backed killed the americans in bengazhi. That's gratitude for ya

There was no islamic fundamentalists in any of them countries till America sticks it's nose in. This is how dumb Americans are , nearly all the lads who flew the planes into the Twin Towers were from saudi arabia and in Americas infinite wisdom they invaded iraq . It'd be like the IRA bombing the crap outta london and the brits invade Scotland

suicide_circus

suicide_circus wrote: »

It's also worth noting that what we today know as 'democracy' is a very very new experiment and really the jury is still out on it's success.

Excepting Israeli citizens, the 'democracy' thing in its most complete nature is not really embraced by other middle eastern countries.

kildare lad

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Excepting Israeli citizens, the 'democracy' thing in its most complete nature is not really embraced by other middle eastern countries.

You could argue america isn't a true democracy either . Hillary Clinton got 3 million more votes than trump and still lost .

Kivaro

kildare lad wrote: »

Would these be the same analysts that said iraq had WMD , america is doing all the saudi and israels dirty work for them.....

No, this analyst was from the region who experienced Assad Senior's tyranny when he put down dissent in Syria years before his son came to power. The analyst recognised that Assad Junior would be more destructive and also spoke about the resulting migrant crisis that would be a consequence .... even before it happened.

I don't know what WMD has to do with Syria and while it may disappoint a few on here but the US did not start the civil war there as claimed in the original post. But rant way ....

kildare lad

Kivaro wrote: »

No, this analyst was from the region who experienced Assad Senior's tyranny when he put down dissent in Syria years before his son came to power. The analyst recognised that Assad Junior would be more destructive and also spoke about the resulting migrant crisis that would be a consequence .... even before it happened.

I don't know what WMD has to do with Syria and while it may disappoint a few on here but the US did not start the civil war there as claimed in the original post. But rant way ....

Who's the analyst ??? I'd hate to break it to you but most countries there don't take dissent , try it in saudi arabia and you'll end up like that journalist chopped up into little pieces. Is syria better off now that before the civil war ? Is iraq better off now , is libya better of now , yemen etc.

Mad_maxx

Odhinn wrote: »

Can't see what the US would be held accountable for, anymore than Turkey, the Gulf states and Russia.

I do , the iraq invasion of 2003 destabalised the entire region , a lot of jihadis poured into Syria which while under the control of a dictator , was a relatively secular and stable country , probably more so than Iraq and whatever about the kind of brute Sadam was , he was not a religious fundamentalist

Stihl waters

What way is Syria at the moment, is there still conflict? Is there a functioning economy and governance and is there any sense of a return to normality for the Syrian people in the near future

Mad_maxx

kildare lad wrote: »

Maybe some cultures do better with democracy than others. It's a bit naive of the US foreign policy to bring freedom and democracy to the middle east where a tribal and religious way of life has ruled for thousands of years .

Iraq was relatively secular , they wrecked it , it was up to the iraqis to get rid of sadam , the sales pitch that they were liberating iraq was the biggest crock of sh1t

Tyrone212

Mad_maxx wrote: »

I do , the iraq invasion of 2003 destabalised the entire region , a lot jihadis poured into Syria which while under the control of a dictator , was a relatively secular and stable country , probably more so than Iraq and whatever about the kind of brute Sadam was , he was not a religious fundamentalist

Yes. The Iraq invasion destabilised the entire area and left a power vacuum which lead to ISIS taking a foothold in the region.

One could even argue it tipped the balance of the brexit vote also. As the migrant crisis reached its maximum around then. The talk of 1 million migrants entering Germany was centre stage and Farage had that photo of migrants stating they were coming. Tony Blair for all his love of EU in my opinion was the indirect factor for why they left many years later.

The UK and the USA have a lot to answer for. Blair and Bush should have been charged with war crimes. The amount of death and destruction they have caused is sickening. The ramifications are still being felt to this day.

Odhinn

Odhinn wrote: »

Can't see what the US would be held accountable for, anymore than Turkey, the Gulf states and Russia.

Well the gulf states are allies of the US. As is Turkey. And the US gave support to the “moderate rebels” who didn’t really exist. Well not the moderate part.

Didn’t you used to be a leftist? Or has leftism morphed into full grown American apologetics since Obama?

kildare lad

Mad_maxx wrote: »

I do , the iraq invasion of 2003 destabalised the entire region , a lot jihadis poured into Syria which while under the control of a dictator , was a relatively secular and stable country , probably more so than Iraq and whatever about the kind of brute Sadam was , he was not a religious fundamentalist

Don't forget saddam was an ally of the yanks in the 80s , also the yanks aided the mujahideen in defeating the Russians , and that came back to bite them in the ass. They also helped overthrow the democratically elected prime minister over iran because he wanted to nationalize iranian oil. Americans have no problem cosying up to a dictator as long as he's on their side.

Tyrone212

kildare lad wrote: »

Don't forget saddam was an ally of the yanks in the 80s , also the yanks aided the mujahideen in defeating the Russians , and that came back to bite them in the ass. They also helped overthrow the democratically elected prime minister over iran because he wanted to nationalize iranian oil. Americans have no problem cosying up to a dictator as long as he's on their side.

Look no further than Saudi Arabia. They'll turn a blind eye to anything as long as you cosy up to them.

Kivaro

Kivaro wrote: »

You might be confused. Islamist terrorists arrived a good bit later and I specifically mentioned the early stages of it. The civil war started in March 2011 when "pro-democracy demonstrations erupted in the southern city of Deraa, inspired by the Arab Spring in neighbouring countries". (From the BBC). I can assure you that there were no Islamist terrorists taking part in these pro-democracy demonstrations. I remember watching these demonstrations live and many of them had a music/celebratory atmosphere until the Assad regime started their brutal crackdown.

I admire your expertise on the whole thing by er, watching the telly. Good man.

The US clearly supported sectarian Sunni paramilitaries. These morphed into or were from the beginning Al Nusra (which is a rebranding of al queda.) Along with the gulf states the US plied these militaries with arms.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timber_Sycamore

Mad_maxx

Tyrone212 wrote: »

Yes. The Iraq invasion destabilised the entire area and left a power vacuum which lead to ISIS taking a foothold in the region.

One could even argue it tipped the balance of the brexit vote also. As the migrant crisis reached its maximum around then. The talk of 1 million migrants entering Germany was centre stage and Farage had that photo of migrants stating they were coming. Tony Blair for all his love of EU in my opinion was the indirect factor for why they left many years later.

The UK and the USA have a lot to answer for. Blair and Bush should have been charged with war crimes. The amount of death and destruction they have caused is sickening. The ramifications are still being felt to this day.

absolutely , Blair was the worst PM the uk has ever had , he makes Thatcher look like a dove , the peace process would have happened anyway as John Major did as much work there as Blair ever did

BingCrosbee

I have worked all over the world, Africa. War zones such as Bosnia,East Timor, Rwanda etc. I have come to the conclusion the the US is the most evil regime in the world and responsible for most of the conflicts through the CIA - I saw the CIA in action, it’s unbelievable. The US have the power to orchestrate whatever outcome they want for a country. Take North Korea-they are a great PR job for the US.

Mad_maxx

kildare lad wrote: »

Don't forget saddam was an ally of the yanks in the 80s , also the yanks aided the mujahideen in defeating the Russians , and that came back to bite them in the ass. They also helped overthrow the democratically elected prime minister over iran because he wanted to nationalize iranian oil. Americans have no problem cosying up to a dictator as long as he's on their side.

while not being at all well informed on the matter , i could sympathise with the americans aiding the afghans , the soviets had no business being there and none of the muslim nations in the region were happy about it

kildare lad

Mad_maxx wrote: »

Iraq was relatively secular , they wrecked it , it was up to the iraqis to get rid of sadam , the sales pitch that they were liberating iraq was the biggest crock of sh1t

They impeached clinton over lying about a blow job , they tried to impeach trump over inciting a riot on twitter and yet Bush started a war based on lies which resulted in 100,000s dead cost trillions of dollars and yet he's retired at a ranch in texas . I scratch my head as sometimes about how corrupt the land of the " free" is

Mad_maxx

Mad_maxx wrote: »

while not being at all well informed on the matter , i could sympathise with the americans aiding the afghans , the soviets had no business being there and none of the muslim nations in the region were happy about it

And now the Americans are there. For 20 years.

Mad_maxx

BingCrosbee wrote: »

I have worked all over the world, Africa. War zones such as Bosnia,East Timor, Rwanda etc. I have come to the conclusion the the US is the most evil regime in the world and responsible for most of the conflicts through the CIA - I saw the CIA in action, it’s unbelievable. The US have the power to orchestrate whatever outcome they want for a country. Take North Korea-they are a great PR job for the US.

they are the biggest beast on the block , the UK was a brute too when it was the biggest dog on the street a century ago or more , the question is however , would China be any less of an ogre if it replaces america one day ?

Mad_maxx

kildare lad wrote: »

They impeached clinton over lying about a blow job , they tried to impeach trump over inciting a riot on twitter and yet Bush started a war based on lies which resulted in 100,000s dead cost trillions of dollars and yet he's retired at a ranch in texas . I scratch my head as sometimes about how corrupt the land of the " free" is

what was iraq for , i used to think it was oil but oil is plentiful in america itself , israel is often trotted out but are israel any more secure today than when sadam was there ?

maybe it was just about bush finishing what he perceived his dad failed to complete ?

the consequences of that invasion will be felt for a century

kildare lad

Mad_maxx wrote: »

while not being at all well informed on the matter , i could sympathise with the americans aiding the afghans , the soviets had no business being there and none of the muslim nations in the region were happy about it

Ye I suppose they seen it as payback for vietnam

kildare lad

Mad_maxx wrote: »

what was iraq for , i used to think it was oil but oil is plentiful in america itself , israel is often trotted out but are israel any more secure today than when sadam was there ?

maybe it was just about bush finishing what he perceived his dad failed to complete ?

the consequences of that invasion will be felt for a century

Of course it was for oil , bush even thought that the invasion would pay for itself with iraqi oil once they took over the country . How wrong he was . Look at chaney, he made hundreds of millions from the war through he's connections with haliburton , which did logistics over there. I have to laugh when they thank the american soldiers who gave their lives in iraq, saying they were protecting USA. They're the most gullible bunch idiots on the planet

And are they really after assad because he's a tyrant or is it because he has oil .

https://www.voanews.com/extremism-watch/us-firm-secures-oil-deal-us-backed-forces-syria

WASHINGTON - A U.S. company has reportedly reached a deal with Kurdish-led authorities in northeast Syria to develop and export crude oil in areas under their control in the war-torn country.

A senior official at the Kurdish-led Autonomous Administration in Northeast Syria said the deal was approved by the U.S. government.

“As per the deal, a refinery will be built in northeast Syria with a cost of $150 million,” the Kurdish official told VOA on the condition of anonymity.

“The company will explore [for] oil in three locations in northeast Syria, including Rumeilan, Tel Hamees and Tel Brak,” the official added.

Delta Crescent Energy LLC is reportedly involved in the deal. VOA could not reach the company for comment.

Tyrone212

Tump last year

At a Wisconsin rally on Tuesday, President Donald Trump lauded his decision to retain troops in eastern Syria to control oil fields there, despite warnings that such a move could constitute a war crime.

Among them was America's controversial continued presence in Syria, the recent assassination of Iranian Major General Qassem Soleimani and subsequent retaliatory missile attacks.

"People said to me, 'Why are you staying in Syria,'" Trump said Tuesday. "Because I kept the oil, which frankly we should have done in Iraq," he added, to cheers and applause from the audience. The president has previously criticized his predecessors for not profiting off Iraqi oil wells.

"So they say, 'Trump's in Syria,' I didn't pull out—I did pull out," the president continued. "We have the oil, really secure. We'll see what happens with it."

Signore Fancy Pants

Stihl waters wrote: »

What way is Syria at the moment, is there still conflict? Is there a functioning economy and governance and is there any sense of a return to normality for the Syrian people in the near future

Syria is currently still in a clusterfcuk, mainly exists as a proxy battlefield with regional issues being played out without much strategic value.

The civil war is (arguably) long over.

The oil argument is naive for Iraq. To say the least.

Signore Fancy Pants

The US isn't interested in Syrian oil for monetary purposes, it's a geopolitical in nature.

AllForIt

There is virtually no separation of regional and state in middle east countries.

Could you imagine if in Ireland the Catholic Church were still in charge albeit behind the scenes. We would never have become the economic success we have become over the last 25 years.

All the problems we have to deal with in the middle east are rooted in the power and influence of religion in those countries.

And western intervention has very little to do with it.

If the West never intervened in Iraq where would be we be now with them? A peaceful middle east? No way.

In general IMO the problems of the middle east are intrinsically down to those countries themselves for the reasons I've outlined.

There is no other system I'm aware of that works, and that is a democratic capitalist system free from influence of religious ideologists, or any type of ideologies.

riffmongous

AllForIt wrote: »

There is virtually no separation of regional and state in middle east countries.

Could you imagine if in Ireland the Catholic Church were still in charge albeit behind the scenes. We would never have become the economic success we have become over the last 25 years.

All the problems we have to deal with in the middle east are rooted in the power and influence of religion in those countries.

And western intervention has very little to do with it.

If the West never intervened in Iraq where would be we be now with them? A peaceful middle east? No way.

In general IMO the problems of the middle east are intrinsically down to those countries themselves for the reasons I've outlined.

There is no other system I'm aware of that works, and that is a democratic capitalist system free from influence of religious ideologists, or any type of ideologies.

Disagree, the problem wasn't religion having power but a handful of dictators having all the power suddenly being removed or challenged and religious groups becoming the strongest opposition forces, due to their international funding, supply, training networks. The democratic opposition tends to wither very quickly as they don't have any solid foundation after decades of repression nor do they receive the same kind of international support. Then the geopolitics comes into it

suicide_circus

BingCrosbee wrote: »

I have worked all over the world, Africa. War zones such as Bosnia,East Timor, Rwanda etc. I have come to the conclusion the the US is the most evil regime in the world and responsible for most of the conflicts through the CIA - I saw the CIA in action, it’s unbelievable. The US have the power to orchestrate whatever outcome they want for a country. Take North Korea-they are a great PR job for the US.

Wait til the Chinese hegemony happens, you'll be begging for the good old days of US dominance.

AllForIt

AllForIt wrote: »

There is virtually no separation of regional and state in middle east countries.

Could you imagine if in Ireland the Catholic Church were still in charge albeit behind the scenes. We would never have become the economic success we have become over the last 25 years.

All the problems we have to deal with in the middle east are rooted in the power and influence of religion in those countries.

And western intervention has very little to do with it.

If the West never intervened in Iraq where would be we be now with them? A peaceful middle east? No way.

In general IMO the problems of the middle east are intrinsically down to those countries themselves for the reasons I've outlined.

There is no other system I'm aware of that works, and that is a democratic capitalist system free from influence of religious ideologists, or any type of ideologies.

There was clear separation of mosque and state in Iraq and Libya, and now in Syria. In fact one of Saddams right hand men was a Christian. Christians in Syria support Assad.

suicide_circus

suicide_circus wrote: »

Wait til the Chinese hegemony happens, you'll be begging for the good old days of US dominance.

Nonsense. They don’t even have a blue sea fleet yet. It’s hard to imagine any foreign power being as destructive to Europe and the Middle East as the US has been in the last two decades.

suicide_circus

Deleted User wrote: »

Nonsense. They don’t even have a blue sea fleet yet. It’s hard to imagine any foreign power being as destructive to Europe and the Middle East as the US has been in the last two decades.

I'm not saying chinese domination is right round the corner, i'm saying everything we know about the CCP tells me that they would wield power in a pretty horrific manner given the opportunity.

Kivaro

Deleted User wrote: »

I admire your expertise on the whole thing by er, watching the telly. Good man.

You know what they say about people making assumptions .....

Montage of Feck

Dublin City Council should also be held partially responsible for whats going on in Myanmar. In stripping Suu Kyi of the freedom of the city it contributed to a campaign that sullied her prestige and emboldened the military to take back control.

biko

Deleted User wrote: »

There was clear separation of mosque and state in Iraq and Libya, and now in Syria. In fact one of Saddams right hand men was a Christian. Christians in Syria support Assad.

Assad is Alawite and so are many in his administration.
He's not as bad as Iran but there is some religious stuff in there.

Alawites are often presented as an offshoot of Shia Islam.
Alawites, like the Shia, belong to a line beginning with the Imam Ali bin Abi Talib who was among the first males to convert to Islam when he was 8 years old and he was among the closest companions to Muhammad (37 at the time).

Mad_maxx

AllForIt wrote: »

There is virtually no separation of regional and state in middle east countries.

Could you imagine if in Ireland the Catholic Church were still in charge albeit behind the scenes. We would never have become the economic success we have become over the last 25 years.

All the problems we have to deal with in the middle east are rooted in the power and influence of religion in those countries.

And western intervention has very little to do with it.

If the West never intervened in Iraq where would be we be now with them? A peaceful middle east? No way.

In general IMO the problems of the middle east are intrinsically down to those countries themselves for the reasons I've outlined.

There is no other system I'm aware of that works, and that is a democratic capitalist system free from influence of religious ideologists, or any type of ideologies.

while i do believe that islamic culture is hugely different to western culture and the two are incompatible , its truly bizarre to think american and british meddling in the mid east has not contributed hugely to the problems of the region

europe should not be pleased to see a large demographic transformation but the people in the mid east also should not have to tolerate western meddling , im not defending jihadi attacks in europe in case im accused of that