November 10,
2008: On November 7th, Syrian TV broadcast a show featuring eleven Islamic
terrorists confessing their guilt for a September 27th car bombing in Damascus.
The attack killed 17 people, and Sunni terrorists were suspected, because the
explosion took place near a Shia mosque. The TV confessions included the
terrorists admitting they received help from the LFM (Lebanese Future
Movement), a Lebanese political group dedicated to eliminating Syrian influence
in Lebanese politics. The LFM is believed to receive support from Saudi Arabia.
The LFM denied any involvement in the September bombing, and accused the Syrians of coercing the terrorists to
implicate the LFM.
The
population of Syria is about 55 percent Sunni, but is run by a dictatorship
composed largely of Alawites (a Shia sect that comprises about 20 percent of
the population). About twelve percent of the population is Christian. The
Alawite dictatorship, run by the Assad family, has controlled Syria for nearly
40 years. Syria is a typical Middle Eastern police state, where the rulers stay
in power through a combination of terror and playing various groups off each
other.
Over two
decades ago, Syria allied itself with Iran, which is over 90 percent Shia. This
made Syria unpopular with most other Arab states, which are run by Sunnis (as
was Iraq, despite being 60 percent Shia, until Saddam and his Sunni cronies
were deposed in 2003). Syria hasn't changed anyone's minds in the last twenty
years, especially with its support of Shia terrorists (Hezbollah). In the last
five years, Syria has provided sanctuary for Sunni terrorists on their way to
Iraq. But even this was done at the behest of Iran, which was supporting al
Qaeda and their ilk only because this was a way to kill Americans. Normally, al
Qaeda prefers to kill Shia Moslems (who they consider heretics). Many Syrian
Sunnis have organized terrorist groups and aimed their violence at the Syrian
Alawite dictatorship. The Alawites have responded, as they always have, with
efficiency and savage reprisals. It is believed that the televised confessions
were coerced by threatening death, or worse, to close family members. This is a
traditional technique in the region, and it usually works.
