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Updated at 10:25 a.m. ET: President Bashar al-Assad told U.N./Arab League envoy Kofi Annan on Saturday that no political solution was possible in Syria while "terrorist" groups were destabilizing the country.
"Syria is ready to make a success of any honest effort to find a solution for the events it is witnessing," state news agency SANA quoted Assad as telling his guest.
"No political dialogue or political activity can succeed while there are armed terrorist groups operating and spreading chaos and instability," the Syrian leader said after about two hours of talks with the former U.N. secretary-general.
There was no immediate comment from Annan after the meeting, aimed at halting bloodshed that has cost thousands of lives since a popular uprising erupted a year ago.
While they discussed the crisis, Syrian troops were assaulting the northwestern city of Idlib, a rebel bastion.
"Regime forces have just stormed into Idlib with tanks and heavy shelling is now taking place," said an activist contacted by telephone, the sound of explosions punctuating the call.
Sixteen rebel fighters, seven soldiers and four civilians were killed in the Idlib fighting, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which said 15 other people, including three soldiers, had been killed in violence elsewhere.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who met Annan in Cairo earlier in the day, told the Arab League his country was "not protecting any regime", but did not believe the Syrian crisis could be blamed on one side alone.
A Syrian-American woman, who is also a teacher in San Jose, is trying to contact her family in Homs, often her only source of information is images posted on social media.
He called for a ceasefire and humanitarian aid access, but Qatar and Saudi Arabia sharply criticized Moscow's stance.
'Truce not enough'
Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani, who has led calls for Assad to be isolated and for Syrian rebels to be armed, said a ceasefire was not enough. Syrian leaders must be held to account and political prisoners freed, he declared.
"We must send a message to the Syrian regime that the world's patience and our patience has run out, as has the time for silence about its practices," Sheikh Hamad said.
Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal said shortcomings in the U.N. Security Council, where Russia and China have twice vetoed resolutions on Syria, had allowed the killing to go on.
Their position, he said, "gave the Syrian regime a license to extend its brutal practices against the Syrian people".
Saudi Arabia and Qatar, which are both ruled by autocrats and espouse a strict version of Sunni Islam, are improbable champions of democracy in Syria. Riyadh has an interest in seeing Assad fall because this could weaken its Shi'ite regional rival Iran, which has been allied with Syria since 1980.
International rifts have paralyzed action on Syria, with Russia and China opposing Western and Arab calls for Assad, who inherited power from his father nearly 12 years ago, to quit.
Lavrov told Arab ministers a new U.N. Security Council resolution had a chance of being approved if it was not driven by a desire to let armed rebels take control of Syria's streets.
Syria opposition chief rejects UN peace talks
The United States has drafted a fresh resolution, but the State Department said on Friday it was not optimistic that its text would be accepted by the Council.
France says it will oppose any measure that holds the Syrian government and its foes equally responsible for the bloodshed.
Despite their differences, Lavrov and Arab ministers said they had agreed on the need for an end to violence in Syria.
They also called for unbiased monitoring of events there, opposition to foreign intervention, delivery of humanitarian aid and support for Annan's peace efforts.
Dissidents skeptical
Annan also planned to meet Syrian dissidents before leaving Damascus on Sunday. He has called for a political solution, but the opposition says the time for dialogue is long gone.
"We support any initiative that aims to stop the killings, but we reject it if it is going to give Bashar more time to break the revolution and keep him in power," Melham al-Droubi, a Saudi-based member of the Muslim Brotherhood and of the exiled Syrian National Council, told Reuters by telephone.
Annan's trip to Damascus followed a violent day in which activists said Assad's forces killed at least 72 people as they bombarded parts of the rebellious city of Homs and sought to deter demonstrators and crush insurgents elsewhere.
Decisive victory has eluded both sides in an increasingly deadly struggle that began as a mainly peaceful protest movement a year ago and now appears to be sliding into civil war.
Syria's deputy oil minister defects from Assad regime in YouTube video
The United Nations estimates that Syrian security forces have killed well over 7,500 people. Syria said in December that "terrorists" had killed more than 2,000 soldiers and police.
Russia, one of Syria's few foreign friends and its main arms supplier, could play a pivotal role in any negotiated solution.
Chinese and Russian reluctance to approve any U.N. resolution on Syria stems partly from their fear that it could be used to justify a Libya-style military intervention, although Western powers deny any intention to go to war again in Syria.
A Russian diplomat said this week Assad was battling al Qaeda-backed militants, including 15,000 foreign fighters who would seize cities if Syrian troops withdrew.
The Syrian opposition denies any al Qaeda role in the uprising, but Islamists are among rebels who have taken up arms against Assad under the banner of the Free Syrian Army.
Qatar's Sheikh Hamad chided Russia for accepting the Syrian government's portrayal of insurgents as armed gangs.
"There are no armed gangs, the systematic killing came from the Syrian government side for many months. After that the people were forced to defend themselves so the regime labeled them armed gangs," he told the Arab League meeting.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will meet Lavrov in New York on Monday when the Security Council holds a special meeting on Arab revolts, with Syria likely to be in focus.
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Kofi's there just to tie up a few business deals for his son...Dont expect too much in the "visibility" spectrum...
Naah, just two wash-outs meeting to commiserate over their loss of power.
Assads government, by our standards, is a repressive dictatorship ............... but how do we measure in terms of the middle east? ...
Does he represent the feelings of a majority of Syrians? These questions need to be answered factually not speculatively! ....
Syria appears to be in the middle of a civil war ... Let them resolve their own problems and let the powers in the area arm the rebels if necessary .... we not be the enforcer of the arena
the US & the other removed nations should stay out of it: or say nothing and do what needs to be done to end Assads rule silently & quickly without fanfare
While the loss of innocent life of the people of Syria is sickening, it is at their own hands. Syrian rebels have attacked their own government, right or wrong is a discussion for another day, and in doing so, expect someone else to ensure their victory. Don't pick a fight your are not willing to lose.
Here's an article that highlights the hypocrisy of the U.S. Government and corporate media concerning Syria, Libya and other countries in that region.
Why no mention of the opposition in the U.S. supported countries like Bahrain?
Where's Hillary Clinton? She screams her self horse concerning the plight of the Syrian opposition who are mainly right-wing Islamists.
Massive anti-government protest in Bahrain
By Tom Eley
10 March 2012
Tens of thousands of Bahrainis demonstrated near the capital city of Manama against the country's pro-US monarchist regime on Friday. The demonstration comes one year after a series of protests in the small Gulf sheikdom were ruthlessly crushed by the government, backed by forces from neighboring Saudi Arabia.
Demonstrators, largely drawn from the nation's majority Shia population, demanded an end to religious discrimination, the release of political prisoners from last year's protests, and the downfall of the Al Khalifa family dictatorship. They chanted "Down, down Hamad," referring to King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, and carried signs in English and French appealing for international support.
The royal family is Sunni and has sought to create a social constituency for its rule by favoring the nation's minority Sunni population, elements of which launched small counter-demonstrations Friday.
Bahrain, a major oil and gas producer, is home to the US Navy's Fifth Fleet. On the southwestern flank of the Persian Gulf, the base would be critical for any US military operation against Iran.
A Reuters photographer told Al Jazeera that the demonstration, which stretched for miles on a central road leading to Manama, "could be over 100,000." If so, the protest would involve nearly 10 percent of the country's population of 1.2 million. Organizers said they expected as many as 200,000 to participate…
…The February, 2011 demonstrations in Bahrain were inspired by the mass movements in Tunisia and Egypt that led to the collapse of the US-allied Ben Ali and Mubarak regimes, respectively.
With the backing of the US, the Al Khalifa regime called in forces from neighboring Saudi Arabia, which is connected to the Bahraini archipelago by a causeway. In the crackdown that ensued the government killed dozens and arrested thousands. A government-sponsored inquiry conducted by Egyptian human rights expert Cherif Bassiouni found that there had been widespread torture of detainees….
…The crushing of the Bahraini protests proved to be the first step in an imperialist counter-offensive against the Middle Eastern working class, spearheaded by the US, the United Kingdom, France and the Gulf States. It was quickly followed by the engineering of a civil war in Libya, led by Islamist, tribal and monarchist forces that resulted in the toppling of the Gaddafi regime.
A similar stage-managed revolt and civil war has been launched in Syria, designed to oust the Baathist regime of Bashar al-Assad. The imperialist powers cite government brutality against demonstrators to justify the arming of right-wing, Western-backed anti-government forces. But the propagandists of intervention in Syria, including much of the so-called "left" in Europe and the US, remain largely silent over the abuses of US allies such as Bahrain, Yemen and Saudi Arabia….
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2012/mar2012/bahr-m10.shtml
MRZ-1191248
You make it sound like it is the rebels fault for this going on! Please remember that this all started with peaceful protests by the Syrian people and it was ASSAD who fired on and killed innocent people. And yes they DO deserve HELP not someone else to fight for them but HELP in the form of food, water, clothing, and guns from other countries.
Now my question to you would be if there was peaceful protests in your city and the president decided to get rid of that specific group so he ordered machine guns, tanks and missils to be fired on you and your peaceful protest friends, what would YOU do? Would you take up arms to defend yourself or would you just willingly lay down and die? If you did take up arms and saw that you were loosing the fight would you ask for help or just give up?
You cant expect these people to just give up and conform to Assad's rule when he has KILLED INNOCENT people nor would THEY expect you to do the same thing!
Precisely Tiffani.
I would stand up and fight back with weapons to force out those who were using lethal force to enforce their theocratic rule.
We as Americans, British, Japanese, Australians, all countries belong to the Free World Order need to support the Syrian rebels in their ousting of Assad.
Assad opened fire and killed them for nothing more than peaceful protesting.
Assad is a second generation Saddam Hussein just as the Iraqi Interior Ministry has shown itelf to be today in killing teenagers who wore something that the Iraqi Theocratical Government didn't want them to wear.
"You make it sound like it is the rebels fault for this going on! Please remember that this all started with peaceful protests by the Syrian people and it was ASSAD who fired on and killed innocent people."
That is the story we hear in our news reports.But I've heard there is a question about how peaceful the protests were.That they were organized by outside elements funded by the extremist religious Saudis with the intent of bringing the government down.I think we need a lot more background on this mess before just taking the oppositions side.
"It's Their fault!" . . . ."NO! It's Their fault"!
As long as the US stays out of it, who really cares where the blame falls. Our intervention will only bring about an anti-Isreal backlash by Hezbollah and Hamas.
Let's try to stay out of war for a few years, and save some of our taxpayer dollars for construction project here in the US, before we go off blasting another Middle Eastern country for Big Oil.
There is a happy event ocurring in central Texas, it's raining. :) No gloom and doom for today. Maybe the syrians need some to make them feel better.
Even dogs don't like to fight in the rain.
Hey, Arab League ----- Your lack of participation is deafening. This is your neighborhood. Those affected are your religious brethren. You have the military personnel, the necessary armaments and the physical close proximity to the situation. All you need now is the displayed will to bring about a halt to the killing. Words will not help, nor will hand wringing. As for asking other countries (the West) to intervene, that just is not going to happen. The time is long past for the nations of the Islam faith to stand up and be counted. No more, should outsiders (Western countries) send their equipment, monies and CRUSADERS to clean up your essentially "tribal" matters. Let us be perfectly frank here. If your region had NO OIL, your petty jealousies, squabbles and yes, wars, would be of little interest of the rest of the world. If you want to be considered a relevant part of the 21st century, then throw off the cloak of the past and step into the world of today. Only then shall the rest of the world community look upon you as worthy of being equal in the world society of today. Otherwise, you shall remain a "little people" and when the area runs out of oil, you will be little more than footnotes in history. So, pick up the load and carry your share for once. The world awaits.
Within 1 month, Assad will open his periodontal practice in suburban Tehran, and will gladly accept Baathist Medicaid patients. Business will be good until the IAF drops a US made bunker buster on his head.
We had enough of seventh century desert Sunni Islamic dances by Saudi feudal beasts throwing monies around, their al-Qaida, Muslim Brotherhood and their cheap puppets like many politicians, UN, human rights groups and others.
Let them all go to hell!
Assad should not give in to them.
Let us have some in the world fighting these cheap Saudi Salaffi and Wahhabi Islamic mad people and their agents.
If the US gets involved...no matter who ultimately takes over, the Syrians will be united in one respect: their hatred of Americans.
Well. it's worth a shot Bob, I guess.
Anything's better than the current sitting on hands...
maybe they will put some zepplin on and chill...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBmueYJ0VhA&feature=related
Aussie guy - no not anything is better ....it can get much worst - put Australian boots on the ground and see how long the Aussies last - before they pull out as everyone is doing in Afghanistan.
George, a rather low blow to the Aussies. Remember, they were sucked in to GW Bush's decade-long quagmire. Obviously, our allies' withdraw is due to a history of incompetence and the inability to "seal the deal" that the spineless GOPers espouse when in high office.
Sometimes it is better the devil you know than the devil you don't know. Assad is a known actor and predictable. The next person that takes over maybe a fruit loop like the POS that are running Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan.
DO NOT forget that HITLER was elected by the people and then it was too late to find out what he and his fanatics were about. Same with the Shah of Iran. He was an evil POS, but looks like a choir boy in comparison with the fanatics that took over. News coming out of Egypt doesn't sound too good nor that coming out of Libya.
So...Maybe...perhaps...we let Assad wipe out 20% of the population and see what happens. Sometimes you meet the new boss and find out that he was not as bad as the old boss.
When required media show photos of some Muslim pathetic and weeping woman or children and women.
Similarly, why are the pathetic states of US families of soldiers killed and injured while saving the Saudis, Kuwaitis not shown?
Are they not human?
If we jump all around on one Quran burning issue, why should Assads' repeat our blunders?
Yeah like this is going to accomplish something. LOL.
This represents the problem and why Assad refuses to back down. You have a Saudi member of the Muslim Brotherhood who is one of the voices for these rebels. The fact that a Saudi is speaking for the rebels only reinforces Assad's claim that the rebels are really being driven by foreign interference in the internal affairs of Syria. The Syrian National Council is not exiled and is currently operating from Homs, so this guy is not part of some Syrian rebel government in exile, he is a Saudi. It also demonstrates that these rebels are really just Islamists trying to take control in Syria as they have already done in Egypt. I do not necessarily support what Assad is doing or the way he is handling the situation, but the more you learn about who these rebels really are, the more you can understand why Assad is fighting against them. Assad is basically a secularists who has allowed people in Syria to pretty much practice any religion they want. He does not want to see Syria turned over to Islamist fanatics and watch his country become yet another backward, repressive Islamic Republic.
I'm not sure about that, JS. It doesn't say Melham al-Droubi is a Saudi. It says he is "a Saudi-based member of the Muslim Brotherhood". I read that as meaning that he is a Syrian based in Saudi Arabia; not necessarily a Saudi citizen.
Not only this, Sunni al-Qaida militants are supporting the rebels.
Many are winking at these realities. They are focusing and screaming in the directions directed by Saudis.
Assad is still one of the best Muslim ME leaders.
Can any one with all their big bags of books on human rights, democracy, secularism and so on certify whether there can be any worse leaders than these highly bigoted and despotic corrupt Saudi, Kuwaiti and other rulers?
Even if the Mohammedan was Syrian that is Saudi based - isn't that enough to see what this is all about? It's like getting a statement from an angel about earth but he's hell based- does that not make him suspect? :)
ypu are right Jonathon-1982062 the saudies and qatar trying to take over syria just like they did in libya and these rebels are nothing but bunch of thugs , i hope assad wins , because if he does not so go all the chirstians in that part of the world , i hope somebody tells senator Mccain to go home and retire and i am so glad he did not win the election or we would have been in a mess , it seems like somebody like him will care about not sending our troops to fight for them saudies and qataris the, heck with their oil and money , if was not for that i do not think anybody will give them the time or the day , that goes to tell you money talks even with these no good countries .
If in fact it is what he is doing, he must have a very difficult time living in his own skin as so many innocent civilians are killed. He has a family and children himself....how can he not cry for these kids ? if not, he is riding the gravy train...how and when will the world know what really goes on within the walls of his protected fortress ?
alumette,
Conservatives always seem to love dictators such as Assad, Mubarak, and Qaddafi. I wonder what it is in the conservative psychology that makes them love dictators so much, especially when they themselves live in a democracy. Are freedom and democracy only for us?
Given how the Tea Party legislatures around the country have been actively pursuing voter suppression laws, I'd say they don't even want it for us...
Toasty,
Yikes! Good point!
Kill Baby Kill...
If one Quran burning can lead to so many killings, most of the religious fanatics don't deserve better.
Assad should bomb the Saudi, al-Qaida, Muslim brotherhood supported Syrian rebels to the last evil on earth!
This is the guy that was looking the otherway while his son filled his pockets allowing Sadam Hussiem to ship oil out of Iraq under the disguise of other supplies so he could funnel money into his regime. While under a UN sanction that no oil was going to be allowed to be sold from Iraq.He is a crook and his son is a crook.
Uhhh the US supported Saddam Hussein, Ghaddafi AND Iran before they were enemies. I don't see you bringing up the evils of "the great Satan" yet you bring up UN sactions as though that is some sort of moral litmus test for right and wrong. The UN is an extension of US foreign policy, not a judge of right and wrong. And besides you can't convict the father for something the son did.
was the evil saddam with all the WMD .the one who the iranians for the saudies and then they refused to pay him for the war cost you want talk facts STORMER .
interesting.
"This is the guy that was looking the otherway while his son filled his pockets allowing Sadam Hussiem to ship oil out of Iraq under the disguise of other supplies so he could funnel money into his regime. While under a UN sanction that no oil was going to be allowed to be sold from Iraq."
Those sanctions were responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people.Mostly the old,sick,and especially children.Even human rights organizations were calling them genocidal.Everyone helping to stop them should have got a medal.Powers able to inflict suffering like that on weaker peoples are an evil bunch.
The whole Syrian rebels thing is from the outside-Sunni Saudi Arabia, USA, Blackwater,Turkey, and the Muslim Brotherhood ! ANY and ALL countries would fight back like Syria is ! Why the USA and UN is against Syria is a joke ! Al Qaida whore Hillary has an agenda to kill Christians there and put in Sharia law like she did in Libya ! The news media has refused to show the rebels killing a Christian Priest, Police station attack, and the thousands of brave Syrian soldiers ! CNN suppressed the story about Marie Colvin being double crosed by her rebel friends to blame Syrian Army-she was killed by nails and home made bomb of the FSA ! Tell the Truth !
Tony, you're weird! Pat Robertson and his 700 Club wackjobs are calling ya.
Ass-Head's father was a Murderouus Butcher who KILLED Tens of Thousands. And Ass-Head is just following the family line into HELL. Cut off the Head of the Snake and Start over. STOP TALKING!
Give us a break from the pathetic looking children or woman in the above photo!
If we look at the pathetic conditions of those affected by Sunni Muslim genocides, Islamic terrorist acts and other atrocities on infidels including Shiites, the above one-sided photos and write ups don't deserve to be even shown.
Are only those certified by Saudis, oil companies and their lobbyists are humans and rest of us don't count in the world?
Even Lebanon based Christian priest mentioned that Assad is far better a leader in ME than most.
Still many are simply supporting the Saudi enacted dramas in Syria and Iran just like Iraq.
These clear double standards are a disgrace to those talking big on any issue!
Muslim's trying to find out about Muslim's killing Muslim's. To the poor women looking for her family, maybe had you worked harder on achieving success for all in your country you would not be in the situation you find yourself, however I have no sympathy as you all brought this on yourself with your fierce allegiance to Muhammad and your silly little book the Koran. As long as you use this insanity to guide your life you will continue to suffer forever. This is the lot of Islam.
Good point, Will. "Silly little book", LOL!
All sensible mediators like Kofi Annan expect both sides of the Syrian conflict to stop the violence.But this will, however, fail.The reason is the wahabized Sunni rebels,the Arab league that supports the rebels,and the Western countries like the U.S that support the League as well as most of the Western mainstream media claim the violence in Syria is only from the side of the Assad regime and the rebels are all innocent,peaceful, democracy seeking protestors or almost like that.It was mostly because of this Western mythology about the Homs rebels that Russia and China vetoed the UNSC resolution and the fighting continued to this day.
At UN On Syria Russia Says Hope, But (the first time I have every recommended a site for all to read), coming
days should show what Russia means by hope. To me hope is defined in "The Possessed" by Dostoyevsky
"The great mother, I answer, the hope of the human race.....................such is the prophecy"
Russia's Foreign Minister should take S/S Hilliary' call; a phone call is salvation and S/S Hillary CLinton
should bone up on Dostoyevsky this weekend "in her spare time". (A woman's work is never finished)
"Russia's Foreign Minister should take S/S Hilliary' call; a phone call is salvation"
Your right he should take her call.Then tell her if she ever talks about Russia like she did.Women or not ,he'll bitch-slap her on the floor at the UN.Well,maybe to be PC he'll let a Russian women to do it.But the point he should make is,it will get done.
Does Uncle Bob do this to his wife? After all, she was dumb enough to marry Uncle Bob.
When you are supposed to be the top "diplomat" of a great power,and you insult another great power in the hysterical manner she has.At the very least she should be rebuked. The Chinese who she insulted as well,but in a less shill manner.Have said that "her insults were totally unacceptable". And if you know anything about Chinese Diplomacy,they are very civil in everything they say. For them to say that means they were really pissed. As for the Russians,I've heard they are more than pissed about it. BTW my wife,would do more than bitch slap her if she talked to her like that. When she gets mad,grass don't grow,lol.
All nations of the planet should have convened at the UN to allow foreign intervention in Syria. Syria is for the Syrian people to live in peace and with dignity! But now, they are being slaughtered like pigs and the international community should not allow it! For God´s sake, we live in the 21st century. Especially, in this particular case, the Arab League Nations should act overwhelmingly to cause the fall of those demented murderers Assad, both Bashar and Naher.
By their vote, Russia and China have demonstrated that they too want to have a free hand in their countries to maim, assassinate and jail their nationals, at will. They have plenty of experience in producing dead and mutilated bodies all over their countryside.
With this background, Assad promoted a fake, cynical referendum, on constitutional changes, to make everybody believe that he is the good guy, and that the people of Syria deserve to be slaughtered day after day, with no international reaction in sight.
Of course, all this, also, after recent elections in Yemen where a single candidate, the Vice-president of Saleh, another assassin, ran for reelection; and, of course, won.
And, not a word from the State Department or the majority of chanceries across the world, especially of those countries that consider themselves highly industrialized, super developed, and the world´s guardians of freedom, free democracy, and human rights.
Why doesn´t the International Penal Court seek to investigate and prosecute Assad´s animal behavior, ASP?
Nice, huh, after 40 years of his family being in power, this stupid animal named Bashar Assad -- all he knows is killing his own people with his country´s army. He´s been president for 11 years, but he has reached the point of no return and should be killed, alongside his family. The referendum should be for his ouster from this planet, period! He´ll surely lose. Lest, of course, in the case of Assad, countries like the UK, where his bitchy wife is from, try to give him asylum. At this point, any type of sectarian violence is better than outright killings by this demented moron and his brother Maher. The Sunni Muslims will in the end prevail, while the Alawite, related to Shiite Islam, will probably be massacred in Syria.
The Royal Saudis, and other blue blooded Arabs, including Assad, and other (assassins) “presidents” of the region´s economies, are not reforming anything in the political arena, like redefining their rules for economic growth in democracy, western-type. They´ll all be kicked out eventually! And, when the population realizes that the West did not help, they´ll surely turn to more fanatic means, engulfing both politics and religion, as in Iran!! Eventually, to protect oil sources the West might have to set up a NO-FLY ZONE all over the Middle East, case by case.
Bashar Al Assad is a despot, demented moron, and murderer – an international shame for the 21st century -- and should be executed quickly by Syria´s (shabiha in rebellion), or foreign, armed forces – the Mossad -- even for the sake of saving their skins if not solely to save Arab lives, while at the same time taking over and installing a temporary military government,, that over a period of 2 years could bring things back to normal. Needless to say, in the process, the armed forces there should be purged of any of Assad´s cronies so that these freedom fights continue for the benefit of the Syrian population.
The only political system that will last forever, so to speak, will be a western style-type democracy. Apparently this truth has been realized by a whole new generation of Syrians educated within and outside of that country. The internet has helped bridge the technological gap and to come to full realization that their young lives were meaningless and had no future with corrupt animals like Assad, in power.
However, Syrians will not have freedom and dignity for a long time. They have to work at it, together with their armed forces that must see their role as only temporary -- 2 years -- until the country´s new institutional basis is set up so that political parties can prosper in peace and without fear. Once this is achieved, elections must be convened so that regional-party political representatives can be elected nationwide with a view to integrating a National Assembly to draft a new Constitution for the country. This would be the beginning of a new future for the Syrian population.
Meanwhile, if captured alive, the military government should prosecute Assad so that the death penalty can be brought to bear on this god forsaken animal, and his family. Their own and family assets, in general, should be confiscated in Syria as well as outside of the country. Those monies belong to the people of Syria.
But more than anything, the world must congratulate the Syrian population for acting with great courage, with their hearts and minds, to try to topple a ruthless and corrupt regime from the face of the earth.
Needless to say many more countries will follow, not only in the Middle East – mainly, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Iran, etc. -- but also in Latin America, especially in the case of those with presidential lunatics trying to emulate the Cuban political system which under the noses of the USA and the rest of the Americas has failed miserably, i.e., Venezuela and his gorilla Chavez.
In general, the combination of authoritarian rule, high unemployment, poor opportunities for social advancement, demographic youth bulges, low public investment in education and health and other public services, and anger at high levels of corruption, and outright thievery, in the Middle East and North Africa, and in Latin America, will prompt public uprisings that will topple their leaders. Chavez, Assad are definitely in this list after their close friend Gadhafi has moved on to better pastures, in hell! Needless to say, the Cuban government also needs to be overthrown!
Instead, Presidents from these poor, backward economies, that have not even approached the take-off stage in economic development should instead concentrate their public administration efforts in fighting corruption, reducing the size of their inefficient and corrupt public sectors, and increasing public/private investments with the help of the multilateral financial community -- including in the strategic social sectors; i.e., education, health, and basic services – to increase employment.
The UN Security Council should give the OK for NATO to intervene also in Syria, so that these people are not slaughtered like animals by their own army. The intervention at this stage should be humanitarian aid, drones, and light weapons with plenty of ammunition so that these peoples can defend themselves from the butchers of Damascus.
But what can the world do with stupid interventions like the one given NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen stating that the alliance had no intention of intervening in Syria, even if there was a UN mandate for this. He also rejected the idea of providing logistical support for possible ‘humanitarian corridors’ to Syria’s worst-hit cities. Rasmussen said that Syria is too complicated, ethnically, politically, and religiously, adding that Middle Eastern countries should find a solution to the conflict.
This very stupid general should resign his post. Rasmussen’s comments are risky, because they could actually give Syrian President Bashar al-Assad even greater confidence to crack down on the opposition, thus making NATO intervention more likely, if Assad uses now even deadlier force, at which point the West would come under rising pressure to intervene.
Get the cowardly generals out of the way, get them some boos and whores, and let them have a war with their cowardly selves.
McCain is right!! Strike the murderers now! In this sense, the USA should at least coordinate a good and final strike against the Syrian government. Hire Mossad???
In the final analysis given the severity of the situation, the UN/NATO should propose that Syria, a sovereign country, transfer its right to national self-determination to an overseer. The UN should argue that given the failure and the criminality of the Syrian state, UN and NATO members have the power and moral right to suspend the principle of national self-determination. In other words, Syria should be taken over by the rest of the world to stop the mass assassinations being conducted there by Bashar Assad.
More than TEN THOUSAND SYRIANS HAVE ALREADY DIED in their fight for LIBERTY!
And the rest of the world, especially her neighbors, should not allow it!
German- you sure don't sound German - ethnically German? or a refugee from another happy Muslim land?
Who cares if all the camel kissers kill themselves off.
You want to help them, go to Syria, use your time, your money and your life, leave the rest of us alone.
Amazingly large number of people yelling we should help them, while they sit behind their keyboard.
Why aren't you in Syria, helping?
They don't want anyone's help, either side. We (USA) help them, then they turn against us. Sorry rebels in Syria, but you're backed up by al-qaeda.
German, I love your post -- brilliant--and you sound German to me. My husband is German and like you he always
has a solution I would only add, quoting from Foreign Affairs, "In the vulnerable decades after WW 11,
conflict was avoid largely because NATO remained united."
Georgy boy, whether I sound ethnically German or not is beside the point. My earthly desires have been put forth in this democratic forum. Period.
Robby, I am in Syria.
Gabriel, nevertheless, the Syrian people must be saved from slaughter by a demented moron...
Phyllis, NATO should remain united in the face of adversity created by beings lower than human beings and that therefore should be destroyed.
MORE ARAB TALK?
Now you See Peace and Now you Don't!
Maybe the Arab League can do it?
PS - YEAH -- When Pigs Fly!
Just go to youtube, type Syria and see how the Syrian Army is attacking and murdering unarmed civilians. The reality of the matter is the fact that the regime is murdering over 100 individuals everyday. For those of us who do have kids, just imagine your own kid being shot as a target practice. How would you feel? And what would you do? So, please let's stick to the facts and stop your thoughtless accusations and biased conclusions.
When you start a civil war, people shoot at you.
When you get tired of people, shooting at you, put your weapons down and go about your business. the rebels are refusing anything except surrender by Assad.
Wonder why he is shooting at them?
You want to help them, go to Syria and help, leave us alone.
To "William-360414." You are, at best, a racist, self-centered, ignorant, and thoughtless scum bag. Get your facts straight first.
Ever notice how the rush hour traffic just goes on, oblivious to any conflict around them unless it blocks traffic?Call it --- futility. 90% of people could care less about ANY cause-- they have a life to live
This has nothing to do with the Syrian people - its all about Geo-politics - EVERYONE knows this so spare us the democracy and freedom crap. When you see the saudis and the other despots in the region demanding democracy in Syria then YOU KNOW this is a joke! The reality is that if the rebels win most if not all Christians and other minorities will flee - this while the rebels ask the Chrisitan world for help. Look how they desegrated Christian graves in Lybia and how that is developing! Or how Churches are burned in Egypt - by the same people who cry like b-tches when they are being killed and the Christian west doesn't want to have their own sons and daughter fight for their despotic cause (yes, the irony is we utilize our daughters too- they treat them as cattle) - so I say, support Assad - who else in that despotic region is secular and has a multiplicy of populace living together? It is homogenous for a reason, people flee, no one can live under the sunni radicals of arabia - I mean, they are debating still wether to build a church in Saudi Arabia - it is illegal to convert there and you even have to drive on a separate rode - it is DISGUSTING that the Chrisitian west doesn't spit at them and send them back to the caves that they came out of - irnonically too- that is where mohammed "heard the message" from god as we was fondling his 12 year old bride (this is not hyperbole, he had a 12 year old bride, imagine Jesus doing this?)
Actually the beef stems from when Sarah got Abraham to toss his bastard son and his concubine Hagar out into the wilderness so he would not share in any estate . Muslims have had a grudge and and inferority complex ever since
Actually Christ hung out with a prostitute. Apparently she was his main squeeze. The Christians get to break bread in Heaven with both her and that lifelong thief Christ forgave as he was dying on the cross. Imagine that
Meanwhile, camels are passing through needles' eyes before a millionaire gets in to break bread with anybody there, if the words of Christ mean anything. And yet getting rich is considered a GOOD thing in much of the world. Non sequitor for a Christian
God said to Abraham kill me a son. Abe said man you must be putting me on. God said you know, Abe said what, God said you can do what you want Abe, but the next time you see me coming you'd better run! Abe said where do you want this killing done, and God said out on Highway 61. ---- Bob Jewish Dylan
The broken gambler he was very bored, trying to create the next World War, he found a promoter who nearly fell on the floor, saying I've never engaged in this kind of thing before, but yes I think it can be very easily done! We'll just put some bleachers out in the sun, and have it out on Highway 61!--- Same dude
After approving the Iraq war, the UN made not a single attempt to mitigate the slaughter that followed - far greater than recorded here. So, although the idea of casualty reduction is important the UN's specific involvement here for a smaller scale event, and hands off approach when far greater suffering was involved makes one question their motive.
who CARES i dont
Your mom will care when it costs $150 to fill up her SUV twice a month to drive you around town for whatever!
The only solution is to kill Assad and then take out the top Baath Party people. It will happen, sooner or later.
May the best terrorist win?
Assad is going to end up just like Qaddafi, it's just a matter of time.
Another UN sponsored dog and pony show. Did Annan really think he was going to get anywhere after it has already been made perfectly clear that Syria is going to get a pass? The UN has already paid their lip service to what is going on in Syria and it has already been voted on that the rest of the world is going to stand by and let them sort it out (i.e. one side slaughtering another) by themselves. Maybe if Mr. Annan were to put out a statement giving a realistic assessment of the situation he might be able to bring about some aid, but instead he'll just verify the fact that the UN is a complete waste of time, space and American tax dollars.