Assad Or Isil

[derekpara]

Do you agree with Putin that Isil is a greater threat to Syria and other countries than Assad ?

[dannyk13]

Yes

[sandyRoe]

Yes. Assad wouldn't be interested in spreading his tyranny beyond his country's borders.

[agchristie]

Major difference, Assad doesn't have aspirations to dominate the world...

[mikey4444]

Broadly yes, although Assad has a slight advantage, as with him it's been a family affair....lets not forget his awful father.

[Jackdaw33]

Assad, As Mikey is fond of saying, it's a no-brainer.

[mikey4444]

yes, Jack you are right. But I was just pointing out that Assad was merrily killing Syrians long before ISIL was thought of.

[tonyav]

Seems to be plenty joining ISIS in Syria.
http://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/thousands-enter-syria-to-join-isis-despite-global-efforts/ar-AAeQoKN?li=AA59G2

[Jackdaw33]

I would have said exactly the same about Saddam. He posed no threat to us.

[Jackdaw33]

...and I would say the same about Kim Jong Un. He can happily carry on executing his people ad libidem for trivial offences, such as not showing him sufficient respect or disagreeing with him. It is up to the people of North Korea to overthrow an unwanted leadership. If he becomes a threat to us, then that is a different matter.

[youngmafbog]

ISIS is a threat to anyone who is not a fundamentalist Muslim. Assad is an evil man but as we have seen the West overthrowing a tyrant is not a good idea, it simply leaves a vacuum for the likes of ISIS and even more get murdered.

[Bigbad]

Jackdaw is right. The problem is when the citizens of a country do attempt to change things and it doesn't go in their favour, which is how all this kicked off in Syria, then the UK, among others,ALWAYS ends up sticking it's oar in.
Time to stop trying to wrap our arms around the world, and spend the money wasted abroad on our own people.
There will always be countries with dictators and control freaks, especially the ones where religion is the driving factor.

[jourdain2]

Yes. Assad may run an unacceptable regime, but he does not threaten the rest of the world, i.e. anyone who is not a fundamentalist Muslim. It has been obvious to me for a long time that we would do better to aid Assad to defeat ISIL.

[Gromit]

Assad is a threat to no one except a minority of Syrians who oppose him. We have happily put up with Assad for 40 years.
Islamic State are the foot soldiers of the fanatical Wahabbi religion of Saudi Arabia and are very dangerous. We have previously let Iraq slip into chaos due to poor planning and that resulted in the birth of ISIL. Now we are actively encouraging a civil war in Syria, again making ideal conditions for IS to reap the rewards of the chaos there.
The US and the rest of its poodles have brought great suffering on Syria, and for no gain due to a flawed strategy.

[derekpara]

I must say I agree with Jackdaw, Bigbad and just about everyone else.

Countries such as Syria and Iraq seem to need a strong and, perhaps, tyrannical dictator to remain stable.

Thanks to you all.

[ichkeria]

Well, ISIL are without doubt a greater threat to other countries than Assad is, but that's stating the *** obvious

[bazwillrun]

Yes....

to all intents and purposes Assad was a "friend" of the west and posed no threat to us whatsoever...

[ichkeria]

But Assad v ISIS is not the game ...

[venator]

The biggest threat to world peace is the actions of the West. For many years we have played the "Great Game", meddling and starting wars in the Middle East. We support the dreadful Saudi rulers and take it on ourselves to remove governments and set up puppet regimes.

It isn't surprising that movements like Al Qaeda and ISIS find support.

[bazwillrun]

" For many years we have played the "Great Game""

its all about oil.....and the supply of...

[Gromit]

Agree with Baz. Though more the security of our energy supplies.