Because today, one post just isn’t enough. Or, calling all moderate Syrian rebels. July 2, 2014
I just reposted a blog from a US citizen who has spent a lot of time in Syria and had a clear understanding of life there before the war. I opened wordpress today to post a different blog, and so I am posting again. See if you don’t have a few minutes to read both. The first was thoughtful and informative. This one is humorous, but makes its own important point.The serious side of this post is that I saw this article on the same day I saw a friend’s post on Facebook, showing “moderate Syrian rebels” executing three men by pouring gasoline over them, then pushing them into a grave with a lit fire in it. I won’t post that video. It’s horrific. But I will post this article from the New Yorker, featuring a satirical questionnaire for vetting “moderate Syrian rebels,” to be used by the United States government in determining who should receive $500 million worth of United States taxpayer supplied weapons. Perhaps we could save a few million by sending over lighter fluid and matches instead.WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report)—After announcing, on Thursday, that it would seek $500 million to help “train and equip appropriately vetted elements of the moderate Syrian armed opposition,” the White House today posted the following Moderate Syrian Rebel Application Form:Welcome to the United States’ Moderate Syrian Rebel Vetting Process. To see if you qualify for $500 million in American weapons, please choose an answer to the following questions:As a Syrian rebel, I think the word or phrase that best describes me is:
A) Moderate
B) Very moderate
C) Crazy moderate
D) OtherI became a Syrian rebel because I believe in:
A) Truth
B) Justice
C) The American Way
D) Creating an Islamic caliphateIf I were given a highly lethal automatic weapon by the United States, I would:A) Only kill exactly the people that the United States wanted me to kill
B) Try to kill the right people, with the caveat that I have never used an automatic weapon before
C) Kill people only after submitting them to a rigorous vetting process
D) Immediately let the weapon fall into the wrong handsI have previously received weapons from:
A) Al Qaeda
B) The Taliban
C) North Korea
D) I did not receive weapons from any of them because after they vetted me I was deemed way too moderateI consider ISIS:
A) An existential threat to Iraq
B) An existential threat to Syria
C) An existential threat to Iraq and Syria
D) The people who will pick up my American weapon after I drop it and run awayComplete the following sentence. “American weapons are…”
A) Always a good thing to randomly add to any international hot spot
B) Exactly what this raging civil war has been missing for the past three years
C) Best when used moderately
D) Super easy to resell onlineThank you for completing the Moderate Syrian Rebel Application Form. We will process your application in the next one to two business days. Please indicate a current mailing address where you would like your weapons to be sent. If there is no one to sign for them we will leave them outside the front door.River to Sea![]()
Uprooted Palestinian ![]()
The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Blog!
I just reposted a blog from a US citizen who has spent a lot of time in Syria and had a clear understanding of life there before the war. I opened wordpress today to post a different blog, and so I am posting again. See if you don’t have a few minutes to read both. The first was thoughtful and informative. This one is humorous, but makes its own important point.
The serious side of this post is that I saw this article on the same day I saw a friend’s post on Facebook, showing “moderate Syrian rebels” executing three men by pouring gasoline over them, then pushing them into a grave with a lit fire in it. I won’t post that video. It’s horrific. But I will post this article from the New Yorker, featuring a satirical questionnaire for vetting “moderate Syrian rebels,” to be used by the United States government in determining who should receive $500 million worth of United States taxpayer supplied weapons. Perhaps we could save a few million by sending over lighter fluid and matches instead.
WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report)—After announcing, on Thursday, that it would seek $500 million to help “train and equip appropriately vetted elements of the moderate Syrian armed opposition,” the White House today posted the following Moderate Syrian Rebel Application Form:
Welcome to the United States’ Moderate Syrian Rebel Vetting Process. To see if you qualify for $500 million in American weapons, please choose an answer to the following questions:
As a Syrian rebel, I think the word or phrase that best describes me is:
A) Moderate
B) Very moderate
C) Crazy moderate
D) Other
A) Moderate
B) Very moderate
C) Crazy moderate
D) Other
I became a Syrian rebel because I believe in:
A) Truth
B) Justice
C) The American Way
D) Creating an Islamic caliphate
A) Truth
B) Justice
C) The American Way
D) Creating an Islamic caliphate
If I were given a highly lethal automatic weapon by the United States, I would:A) Only kill exactly the people that the United States wanted me to kill
B) Try to kill the right people, with the caveat that I have never used an automatic weapon before
C) Kill people only after submitting them to a rigorous vetting process
D) Immediately let the weapon fall into the wrong hands
B) Try to kill the right people, with the caveat that I have never used an automatic weapon before
C) Kill people only after submitting them to a rigorous vetting process
D) Immediately let the weapon fall into the wrong hands
I have previously received weapons from:
A) Al Qaeda
B) The Taliban
C) North Korea
D) I did not receive weapons from any of them because after they vetted me I was deemed way too moderate
A) Al Qaeda
B) The Taliban
C) North Korea
D) I did not receive weapons from any of them because after they vetted me I was deemed way too moderate
I consider ISIS:
A) An existential threat to Iraq
B) An existential threat to Syria
C) An existential threat to Iraq and Syria
D) The people who will pick up my American weapon after I drop it and run away
A) An existential threat to Iraq
B) An existential threat to Syria
C) An existential threat to Iraq and Syria
D) The people who will pick up my American weapon after I drop it and run away
Complete the following sentence. “American weapons are…”
A) Always a good thing to randomly add to any international hot spot
B) Exactly what this raging civil war has been missing for the past three years
C) Best when used moderately
D) Super easy to resell online
A) Always a good thing to randomly add to any international hot spot
B) Exactly what this raging civil war has been missing for the past three years
C) Best when used moderately
D) Super easy to resell online
Thank you for completing the Moderate Syrian Rebel Application Form. We will process your application in the next one to two business days. Please indicate a current mailing address where you would like your weapons to be sent. If there is no one to sign for them we will leave them outside the front door.
Uprooted Palestinian 
The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Blog!