Series 1 : Episode 4 : Bashar Al-Assad should abdicate

Sorry for the delay . I will present why I think Bashar Al Assad should not abdicate but the audience must remember the burden of proof is on Pro so I just have to refute what he says to win . First of all we have to analyse the nature of the conflict in Syria from the beginning . The Syrian Civil War supposedly started with the security forces opening fire on 'peaceful demonstrators' . I quote ' Despite thousands of people taking to the streets since the start of the protest movement in March, Syria’s leaders have always blamed the unrest on armed groups they say are terrorising the country, thus justifying the military’s deployment. The opposition has responded by repeatedly calling for their movement to stay peaceful at all costs. ' (http://observers.france24.com...) . Did the demonstrations really stay peaceful? did they even start peaceful? . I quote again 'In the first weeks alone, 48 casualties by “armed protesters” are documented In the following days and weeks, the protests spread. Riots and pillaging began anew. The Assad government’s offers of concessions were ignored, and the authorities responded to further violence with repression. A look at the balance sheet reveals that dozens of people died while attempting to storm state buildings or (as in the case of Sanamayn) army bases. The government then reacted violently to what they saw as an armed conspiracy. In the next six weeks, until the end of April, these conflicts and battles took the lives of more than a hundred people – among them “armed protesters”, peaceful demonstrators, and uninvolved bystanders. At the same time, however, by the end of April 2011 at least eight more cases (in addition to the seven police in Daraa on March 20, 2011) were documented in which public officials were killed. The media have ignored many of these incidents, which contradict the Western reading of the Syrian revolt (for instance, the well over 100 bombings to date). The following events have not been called into doubt even by the English-language Wikipedia writers (who discuss the facts and entries intensively and seriously):' When not only protestors die but also soldiers and other security forces the situation is at least a little suspicious . The reality is the protests looked more like riots . It is even possible that Qatar has armed protestors or funded some demonstrators in cities . The big question for people who know what is really happening in Syria is why there is a war there? Why are foreign powers like Qatar spending millions on arming the rebellion? It's about pipelines . ' the tiny gas-rich state of Qatar has spent as much as $3bn over the past two years supporting the rebellion in Syria, far exceeding any other government, but is now being nudged aside by Saudi Arabia as the prime source of arms to rebels.' What is really happening here is Qatar trying to create a proxy government in Syria and they want to create a pipeline through Syria going up to Eastern Europe (Which is why Russia supports Assad) . ' Qatar is the largest exporter of liquid natural gas in the world and Assad won't let them build a natural gas pipeline through Syria? Of course. Qatar wants to install a puppet regime in Syria that will allow them to build a pipeline which will enable them to sell lots and lots of natural gas to Europe.' (http://www.zerohedge.com...) The link I just gave you has a lot of information and I will post a small part here I strongly advise my opponent to read the whole article as it is very useful . ' The following is an excerpt from an article from 2009... Qatar has proposed a gas pipeline from the Gulf to Turkey in a sign the emirate is considering a further expansion of exports from the world's biggest gasfield after it finishes an ambitious programme to more than double its capacity to produce liquefied natural gas (LNG). "We are eager to have a gas pipeline from Qatar to Turkey," Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, the ruler of Qatar, said last week, following talks with the Turkish president Abdullah Gul and the prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the western Turkish resort town of Bodrum. "We discussed this matter in the framework of co-operation in the field of energy. In this regard, a working group will be set up that will come up with concrete results in the shortest possible time," he said, according to Turkey's Anatolia news agency. Other reports in the Turkish press said the two states were exploring the possibility of Qatar supplying gas to the strategic Nabucco pipeline project, which would transport Central Asian and Middle Eastern gas to Europe, bypassing Russia. A Qatar-to-Turkey pipeline might hook up with Nabucco at its proposed starting point in eastern Turkey. Last month, Mr Erdogan and the prime ministers of four European countries signed a transit agreement for Nabucco, clearing the way for a final investment decision next year on the EU-backed project to reduce European dependence on Russian gas. "For this aim, I think a gas pipeline between Turkey and Qatar would solve the issue once and for all," Mr Erdogan added, according to reports in several newspapers. The reports said two different routes for such a pipeline were possible. One would lead from Qatar through Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Iraq to Turkey. The other would go through Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria and on to Turkey. It was not clear whether the second option would be connected to the Pan-Arab pipeline, carrying Egyptian gas through Jordan to Syria. That pipeline, which is due to be extended to Turkey, has also been proposed as a source of gas for Nabucco. Based on production from the massive North Field in the Gulf, Qatar has established a commanding position as the world's leading LNG exporter. It is consolidating that through a construction programme aimed at increasing its annual LNG production capacity to 77 million tonnes by the end of next year, from 31 million tonnes last year. However, in 2005, the emirate placed a moratorium on plans for further development of the North Field in order to conduct a reservoir study.' Right now let's talk about something else , Support . According to numerous studies Bashar Al-Assad has around 55-70% support . 'The key finding was that while most Arabs outside Syria feel the president should resign, attitudes in the country are different. Some 55% of Syrians want Assad to stay, ' . (http://www.theguardian.com...) ' LONDON — After two years of civil war, support for the regime ofSyrian President Bashar Assad was said to have sharply increased. NATO has been studying data that told of a sharp rise in support forAssad. The data, compiled by Western-sponsored activists and organizations,showed that a majority of Syrians were alarmed by the Al Qaida takeover ofthe Sunni revolt and preferred to return to Assad, Middle East Newsline reported.' (http://www.worldtribune.com...) . Because I only have 700 characters left I don't have time to finish writing all my argument's down , in the next round I will make addditional points (Syrian Elections 2014) (True nature of the rebellion,Al Qeada) .