I thought this article was interesting, becaise growing up in America you think, "this is the best place to live" and "everyone wants to live here". Of course over the years I have learned how un true that is, however I still get a little bit of a shock when I see anti-US articles.
Thousands of people have held a peaceful demonstration in Damascus against an alleged US raid on a village that Syria says killed eight people.
Riot police armed with batons and shields surrounded the US embassy in Damascus, which closed due to what it said were increased security concerns.
The US state department and the White House have refused to confirm, deny or comment on the alleged attack.
The Syrian government has demanded an apology from Washington.
It also threatened to cut off co-operation on Iraqi border security if the US carried out any more raids on Syrian territory.
Unnamed US officials said the target of the attack was the leader of a network with links to al-Qaeda, smuggling foreign fighters into Iraq.
Damascus said it was doing all it could to stem any traffic of foreign fighters across the long and porous border.
Iraq said it would share the results of its own investigation into the raid near Abu Kamal, some eight kilometres (five miles) north of Iraq's border with Syria.
Victims' anger
Thousands of people took to the streets of Damascus, waving flags and carrying banners reading "No to American terrorism" and "America the sponsor of destruction and wars".
The protesters, including many civil servants and students, also waved pictures of the Syrian president, as they converged on the central Youssef al-Azmi square.
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BBC correspondent Paul Wood at the scene of the alleged US air assault
Security was tight ahead of the march, with riot police cordoning off the US embassy and an adjacent US residence building.
The embassy announced it would close on Thursday "due to past demonstrations which resulted in violence and significant damage to US facilities and other embassies".
It also said a US school would close temporarily and warned US citizens to avoid the area.
Fury sweeps Syria over raid
Profile: Abu Ghadiya
Five of those killed in the raid on Sunday were from the same family, and the BBC's Paul Wood spoke to the woman who lost her husband and four sons at the scene of the raid.
She was being treated in a Syrian hospital for injuries she said she received during the attack.
"I went outside to get my son and the Americans shot me," she said. "I was screaming in terror."
She said all the men were working on the house that was in the compound where the Americans landed, and denied any link between them and al-Qaeda.
Our correspondent says although there were Syrian officials present and those interviewed were most likely following the official line, their underlying anger seemed genuine.
'Totally unjustified'
But unnamed US officials have said it killed Iraqi Abu Ghadiya, a former lieutenant of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the al-Qaeda in Iraq leader who was killed in 2006.
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The US blamed him for bringing thousands of fighters across the border.
Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem denied the US claims, calling them "totally unjustified".
He branded the attack a "war crime attempt" and said it had claimed the lives of civilians.
Iraq has also condemned the unconfirmed helicopter strikes.
"The Iraqi government rejects the US helicopter strike on Syrian territory, considering that Iraq's constitution does not allow its land to be a base for launching attacks on neighbouring countries," government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said on Tuesday.
But he urged Damascus to prevent groups using Syrian territory for "training and sending terrorists for attacks on Iraq and its people".
If confirmed, Sunday's strike would be the first US attack in Syria since the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.
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3 comments:
Reading this article brought on great concern. The thing that troubles me most about this article is the fact that the U.S. State Department and the White House refused to comment. As tax payers and U.S citizens I would think that we would have a right to know what is going on and I find it disheartening that the two high branches of government refuse to keep us informed. If anything they could have said that they will inform us of all the details later, or that their is nothing for the U.S should be alarmed by and that they are working things out. Another thing that I question is how this incident will affect the U.S and our relationship with other countries in the future. I am not familiar with Syrian government and the relationship the U.S has with them but, I am curios to know if having a bad relationship with Syria and other countries will effect the U.S? Will having having a poor relationship with other countries put the safety of the U.S. at risk? How will this effect the already hindered economy and what does that government plan to do about it?
I agree that this is a scary issue for us. This article peaks my interest for two reasons: I always like to know how other countries view us, and I am furious about the things we are doing in other countries. For all of the good things that the government has done throughout the years, we have done even more damage through our military, getting involved in situations that we have no business in. It's one thing to try to restore peace to a country, and it's a completely different story when we get lodged in places and become responsible for the deaths of so many people. Ergo, it doesn't surprise me that there are anti-U.S. rallies. We need to recreate our ourselves as a peacemaker in the world, and I feel like the right leaders can make that happen.
I agree with Adam. When I first saw the article, the first thing that popped in my mind was the thought of the U.S. forcing themselves on other countries. I always thought that maybe other countries may view us in that way. Although we may think that are way is the best way, they may be content with their own way. With that thought, I never understood why the U.S. thinks it is their duty to enforce their civilization elsewhere.
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