Friday, 20 May 2011

Did Obama 'defuse' a call for direct intervention in Syria? Obama says Assad can no longer rule through force and must change if he is to get international acceptance

Obama says Assad can no longer rule through force must change if he is to get international acceptance

Via FLC

"... Wednesday’s sanctions may be mostly symbolic: Assad and his cronies have few assets that would be subject to a U.S. freeze. It’s possible, then, that Obama was more interested in influencing public opinion in the Arab world — and to defuse a tough anti-Assad resolution introduced by a group of Senate conservatives last week:
 Resolved, That the United States Senate:
(1) expresses solidarity ... 
(2) strongly condemns and deplores ... 
(3) strongly condemns and deplores ...
(4) strongly condemns and deplores ... 
(5) strongly condemns the Iranian government for assisting the Syrian government ... 
(6) warns that international crimes are being committed by the Syrian government against its people, for which the responsible officials must be held accountable;
(7) finds that the Syrian government led by Bashar al-Assad, through its campaign of violence and gross human rights abuses, has lost the legitimacy to lead Syria and expresses support for the Syrian people to determine their future for themselves;
(8) commends President Obama ...
(9) urges the Obama Administration to act swiftly to expand the list of sanctioned persons to include... Bashar al-Assad;
(10) urges President Obama to speak out directly, and personally, to the Syrian people ... 
(11) urges the Obama Administration to work, in conjunction with international partners, to ensure access of humanitarian relief organizations, medical workers, and international media to affected areas of Syria, ... 
(12) urges the Obama Administration to work with the European Union, the government of Turkey, the Arab League, the Gulf Cooperation Council, and other allies ... 
(13) urges the referral of the situation in Syria to the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC);
(14) urges the Obama Administration to work with our allies and partners at the United Nations Security Council to take such action as may be necessary to protect civilians in Syria ...
(15) urges the United Nations ... 

Now as he mentions Bahrain, he could not continue the phrase "we will (not?) ..."

... I almost heard him say "we won't ACCEPT..."

"... Nevertheless, we have insisted both publicly and privately that mass arrests and brute force are at odds with the universal rights of Bahrain’s citizens, and we will -- and such steps will not make legitimate calls for reform go away..."
Posted by G, M, Z, or B at 12:41 PM
River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian

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