Assad is a despot who is trying to stop a Sunni revolution in his country

Syria is a tolerant country with western education, but under siege from extremist Sunnis (though we call them moderates, they are not).

The Sunnis want to install a religious Saudi like government with strict Wahhabism as the only religion

Assad should be supported to stop this from happening.

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The West does not like Assad's friends:

Assad is aligned with Iran, like Iraq is now. This is why ISIS is pushing its strict Wahhabism in both countries.

Assad gets support from Russia — now prepared to step in and take the fight to ISIS.

 

The west does not like any of this because? Because we're friends with the Sunni Saudis who are the most despotic rulers on the planet but have cash, unlike other tinpots in Africa.

 

The end of Assad at this point in time would not be in our interests: More refugees and not the end of the problem.

 

 

Tony Abbott was lucky. He had the unconditional support of the Murdoch press which influences more than 70 per cent of the media in this country. So people, including John Howard, don't buy his parting salvos at the media:

 

Former prime minister John Howard says it's wrong to blame the media for Tony Abbott's demise, saying his removal at the hands of his colleagues was sealed by "entrenched" poor polling.

Mr Howard's assessment stands in contrast to his former political protege's missive aimed at the press gallery in his last statement as prime minister.

Moments before delivering his resignation to the Governor-General, Mr Abbott lamented that political coverage was driven more and more by polls and commentary that was "mostly sour, bitter, character assassination".

"Poll-driven panic has produced a revolving-door prime ministership which can't be good for our country. And a febrile media culture has developed that rewards treachery," he said.

"And if there's one piece of advice I can give to the media, it's this: refuse to print self-serving claims that the person making them won't put his or her name to. Refuse to connive at dishonour by acting as the assassin's knife."

Mr Abbott's critique was picked up by many of his backers in the Murdoch tabloids and on talkback radio, but rejected by Mr Howard.

"I'm not into blaming the media," he said. "They have a very important role to play in public life.

"I do think we are living in a more supercharged, frenetic, top-of-the-head [media] environment and it is different.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/bad-polls-not-media-to-blame-for-tony-abbotts-demise-says-former-pm-howard-20150915-gjn8am.html#ixzz3lnvyvdP5 Follow us: @smh on Twitter | sydneymorningherald on Facebook
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Tony Abbott was simply bad, BAD, BAD, BADASS... and he is a hypocrite for many things, including mentioning character assassination, as he was the most frequent adherent of the practice, himself... 

 

Russian president Vladimir Putin will push for a new international coalition to fight against the Islamic State terrorist group that could include Bashar al-Assad, as the United States and its allies canvas the idea of leaving the Syrian leader in power for the short term.

Mr Putin is an ally of Mr Assad, but the US and its allies consider him the cause of the carnage in the Syrian civil war and part of the reason for the rise of IS.

The US position has consistently been that the Syrian president must go as part of any solution to the crisis.

But Western governments, including Australia, are now openly canvassing the idea that finding a solution in Syria may mean leaving Mr Assad in power for now.

One reason for the shift is that Mr Putin has stepped up his support for Mr Assad, moving troops and weapons into Syria, which have reportedly made their first bombing raids against IS targets.

Mr Putin is expected to invite the US and its allies to join Russia in a new coalition to fight against IS in Syria when he addresses the UN General Assembly in New York.

"We're trying to establish some kind of coordinated framework," Mr Putin told the US 60 Minutes program.

"We would welcome a common platform for collective action against the terrorists."

But the trade-off is that Mr Assad would remain in power.

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said all options in Syria were on the table, but that it did not mean Australia's position on Mr Assad had softened.

"That is Realpolitik. That is being realistic. In 2011 there was a Geneva process that set out what the coalition partners believed what was achievable at that time," she said.

"It hasn't achieved it so therefore we should reconsider the position."

 

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-09-28/putin-pushes-to-include-assad-in-islamic-state-fight/6808576

 

Russia is the game changer here... Realpolitik it has to be — or leave the place to itself, which would be a bonus for everyone...