The out going conservative Harper government in Canada took that nation far far from its historic role as an honest broker and force for peaceful solutions in international affairs. Best wishes to the Justin Trudeau and his incoming Liberal majority government.

"How Canada has abandoned its role as peacekeeper
...
Retired Canadian general Roméo Dallaire, the world’s most famous face of peacekeeping, devoted much of his speech as he resigned from the Senate this summer to Canada’s shifting priorities. “Today, we point to the humanitarian aid dollars we’ve given, which are never enough, and proclaim we’ve done our part. Today, we have more sabre-rattling and less credibility, more expressions of concern and less contingency planning, more endless consultation with allies, or so we are told, and less real action being taken, and more empty calls for respect for human rights and less actual engagement with the violators."

http://www.thestar.com/news/world/2014/10/31/how_canada_has_abandoned_its_role_as_a_peacekeeper.html

whether the "fight against ISIS" is actually a fight against ISIS at all.

They've been against the more moderate rebels who have had our support. Of course the Russians are calling ALL their attacks "attacks on ISIS", but in reality few have been

Who are they? What are the beliefs they have that make them moderate? Who do they associate with? Are they fighting along side Al Nursa and ISIS? What is their vision for an Assad-free Syria?

These are serious questions, I have never heard an actual description of what a moderate rebel, also called moderate Islamist by some, actually is.

"Moderate" is what the Administration is telling us they are.
This is what a moderate Muslim is. I would say you cant say moderate Islamist, because an Islamist is a radical. But since we're are constantly told these radicals are an anomaly and distort the religion, a moderate would be one who is like the guy next door to you in the US, who goes to work every day, doesnt get into trouble, obeys the laws, goes to his mosque whenever he's supposed to, etc.
One who doesnt follow the edicts of the radical leaders that we hear all the time. Who lives his life no different than the rest of us, just goes to a different building to worship.

Thats about the best I can do. As far as the ones over there, the only ones I would give any trust to are the Kurds, because they have always been on our side. Yet we dont give them what they want because we dont want to piss off Turkey......

of this thread:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1014&pid=1238761

Please post updates, etc. in that thread.

Thank You!