I have visited Damas three times, twice during Hafiz Asad era and once during Bashar Asad.
Firstly Syrians are not Wahabis, most of the people I met were from Sytrol, the Syrian State Run oil company. They were either Sunni or Christain. Only Alawi I met was actual a barber in Fujairah. I have only been to Jordan once that was long ago when one could only go to Iraq via Amman.
Just to let you know, I live in Irbid, in Northern Jordan, I do deal with them as much as I deal with residents of Amman. So, you decide who knows Syria better. You can't claim that you know people just because you visited their country a couple of times more than people who speak their language and share the same culture as well as live among them.
There is little doubt that Syria is a police state and everything is strictly under Govt control. However, this is also true of Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and most of Arab states. Frankly I found little difference between Amman & Damas. On a personal note, I found Egypt under Hosni Mubarak and Tunisia far more moderate regimes. In fact many Palestinians living in Jordan detest Hashemite regime. Would you also support another civil war in Jordan?
When was that? 10 or 20 years ago? King's wife is Palestinian. Although I agree that there are people here don't like Hashemite regime, the vast majority of Jordanians have great respect for them especially Palestinians.
Thus speaking as a non-national, there is hardly any difference between living conditions in Syria or in Jordan.
Really? Health sector, infrastructure, electricity, and education are the same? Jordanian public employees get <three times of what their Syrians counterparts get. Syrians, Egyptians and Iraqis come to Jordan for work.
I dont buy this argument that this regime is much worse than Israel. Similar sort of rationale was used by the House of Saud and Sharif Hussein of Mecca to incite Arabs to side with the English against the Ottomans. While Sharif Husseins family and House of Saud benefitted, we have the State of Israel and French control over Bilad e Sham resulting the creation of Christian dominated Lebanon. Can anyone honestly say with certainty that conditions would have been worse if the Middle East was still Ottoman?
This is not true, it's far more complicated that the simplicity you showed it with, this needs a lengthy discussion. However, once again, you come here and claim you know our own history more than us. I would like you to spare a little more time reading our history from our books.
How can Arabs be so naïve that you dont see that US & Israel are making Syrians kill each other to benefit Israel by clipping the wings of Hezbollah? Have you learned nothing from the division of Arab lands following the WW1?
If you think that the vast majority of Arabs who are with the revolution, who themselves know Syria it's history and people more than any others are naive, then we must be over stupid people. Do you really think we are that stupid?! For the first time, Israel has nothing to do with what's happening in Syria. The Syrians themselves carried out this revolution demanding dignity and freedom. And plz, understand that all 22 Arab countries are 100% with the Syrian people choice, with a more neutral stances for Lebanon and Algeria for specific internal reasons.
Nothing is ever black or white; it is only different shades of grey and in the days of Realpolitik to call darker shade of grey lily white is easy.
However it is not my country, it is Arab land and if Arabs like you and Saudis & Qataris insist on repeating the errors of 1914 so be it. It is true, and the history repeats itself but people never learn
Nothing is going to repeat itself, if there will be any change it will absolutely be to the better. And if you think Bashar Alassad is worthy of ruling Syria, I pray that you get a leader just like him in Pakistan.
I know...I know ! The rest of the Muslim World has disappointed me more times then I can count and I'm sure they feel the same way about Pakistan but call me a dreamer - I'm still hooked to the idea that because we're all Muslims - We are One Nation under God ! And I'm going to strive for that however much disappointment I'm met with or however much I disappoint others ! People will change, Muslims will change ! Long after I'm fertilizing a plot of land in some obscure graveyard somewhere - Muslims would rise above this sectarianism that has crippled us, this incessant usage of ourselves as someone else's proxies and we will reclaim what, in my opinion, Islam was supposed to be - A new paradigm, a progressive world, an answer to some of our fundamental questions ! When that day comes : I hope posterity when they meet set out a glass for me !
I just can't claim to believe in Muslim Ummah, I have never believed in it or even thought of it, I only thought of us helping/supporting eachother in times of need, cooperate, and that's what's happening right now. Just at us please Armstrong! Countries like Iran have made our countries hell in the name of Ummah!