l****z
发帖数: 29846 | 1 Posted by Rick
Published: April 23, 2011 - 11:55 AM
I'm talking of course about these words spoken by our President in late
March in response to events taking place then in Libya:
"To brush aside America's responsibility as a leader and more profoundly
our responsibilities to our fellow human beings under such circumstances
would have been a betrayal of who we are," Obama said "Some nations may be
able to turn a blind eye to atrocities in other countries. The United States
of America is different. And as president, I refused to wait for the images
of slaughter and mass graves before taking action."
The atrocities in Syria are mounting and PajamasMedia is carrying a number
of videos chronicling the horror. Be warned, they are extremely graphic.
From Al Arabiya, reports that 90 were killed yesterday:
At least 90 people were reportedly killed and dozens were injured when
Syrian security forces fired live bullets and teargas to disperse "Good
Friday" protests in several cities, witnesses reported. The death toll
seemed to be rising late Friday.
The reported deaths have created a new crisis for the regime of
President Bashar al-Assad, raising questions about whether he is fully in
control of Syrian security forces. The deaths raise questions about how far
Mr. Assad is prepared to go to stay in power, and if the international
community will take steps to prevent a humanitarian disaster in this
geopolitically strategic Arab country.
The deaths on Friday also bring back memories of large numbers of
political opponents who were mowed down by security forces in the city of
Hama when Mr. Assad's late father, President Hafez al-Assad was in office.
Mr. Assad's brother, Rifaat al-Assad, personally conducted a "scorched earth
" campaign in February 1982 against Sunni Muslims who protested against the
Alawite regime of Hafez al-Assad. Estimates of those killed in Hama range
from 10,000 to 40,000.
On Friday, thousands of protesters swarmed the streets in the southern
flashpoint town of Deraa, Moadamia, Latakia, Banias, and the mainly Kurdish
northeastern city of Qamishli. Thirty were killed in the southern town of
Izzra', 22 in Damascus, 18 in the Homs area and the rest in other towns and
villages, activists said, in what was the deadliest day so far during weeks
of protest.
Human Rights Watch said in a statement that two boys aged 7 and 10 years
old were among those killed in Izzra' as was a 70-year-old man.
"The Syrian authorities have again responded to peaceful calls for
change with bullets and batons. They must immediately halt their attacks on
peaceful protesters and instead allow Syrians to gather freely as
international law demands," said Malcolm Smart, Amnesty International's
Middle East and North Africa director.
With more demonstrations slated for today, and with a history replete with
wholesale slaughter of the opposition, it will likely get much worse before
it gets better in Syria.
I imagine that Obama will have to play a couple of rounds of golf before
issuing a statement, one likely to counter those issued while defending his
Libyan policy. For if we've learned anything about the man at all in the
last two and half years, it's that he has but one core driving principle.
To fool the electorate into thinking he's something he damned sure is not.
So far, sadly, he's been pretty successful. |
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