Editor: It is rather astonishing that letter writer Bob Fearn should purport to be upset that another letter writer allegedly has a “lack of any fundamental knowledge of the situation in Syria” (The Times Nov. 11) when, it would seem, he’s only really upset that someone has expressed an understanding he does not agree with.
In actuality, Bashar al-Assad really does commit acts of murder, torture, and repression out of caprice.
Which is to say, he really does kill people for no reason.
That’s because he an unelected dictator. That’s what unelected dictators do, you see.
As I type this, on Nov. 11, we commemorate the downfall of several such homicidal lunatics who once held power.
I would submit to Mr. Fearn that, as a matter of fact, the people of Syria are not united in support of the Butcher of Damascus.
Had he done some research into the ongoing tragedy, he’d know that it’s a three-way struggle.
There is the Free Syrian Army, which is secular and wants a free society with a democratically elected government.
There is al-Assad’s government, which is essentially fascist.
I hope no-one who supports al-Assad or Putin wore a poppy today, that would be an insult to the effort to smash fascism in the 1939-’45 war. Though I suppose we can forgive it if it was done in ignorance.
And then there is ISIS, which wants to base society on the Bible.
Or is that the Koran?
These situations can get muddled, and thus it’s often hard to keep track of such things.
Gavin Campbell,
Langley