Syria: 2012 Rwanda

Syria continues to give the international community headaches. While investigating reports of this week’s massacre, it is reported that United Nations monitors were fired at by Syrian loyalists. Meanwhile, Secretary of State Clinton was again reiterated that Assad must go, as though perhaps the strength of her breath will somehow blow him from power.

Sorry for the cynicism, but I am concerned that Syria is becoming the 2012 Rwanda. We have a dictatorial regime that is killing its’ own people combined with an international community that seems unable or willing to stop it.

Like Rwanda, Syrian forces can fire on U.N. officials because the international community is restrained from action both because Russia and China back Assad, and the questionable political will of the U.S. to enter into a military situation.

How seriously are we supposed to take United Nations efforts, if the seven Security Council Members can’t get on the same page? This constant flow of words and emphatic finger pointing is only permitting the forces loyal to Assad to kill more people.

This boys and girls, is how Rwanda happened.

Outrage Inc. : The International Response to Syria

The Friday before last, there was a massacre of hundreds of people, including many children in Houla.

The international community was promptly outraged. The international community excels at being outraged as though it were an Olympic sport. Yet, all they seem to muster is being outraged.

The Syrian people do not need our outrage and our words, they need our actions. Unless someone is willing to do something tangible to uproot Bashir Al Assad, then we might as well just save our voices for something we are willing to act on.

 Russia has continued to back Assad and accept this lame terrorist explanation for the massacre.

Eyewitnesses reported tank fire. No terrorist group I’ve ever studied used a tank. Tanks are weapons of states, not Al Qaeda inspired terrorists.

 Without Russia’s help, I’m afraid that we’re just going to allow this garbage to continue. We can be outraged until we’re choking on the floor, but what do such displays accomplish

? It’s not like Assad is going to wake up one morning and say “God, I’ve been a bastard for years, maybe I should become a leader that bends to the will of his people.

 I have a better shot of dating Hannah Teter.

Without the UN: What Now in Syria?

Thanks in no small part to the self interested response by Russia and China to a rather watered down U.N. Security Council on Saturday, diplomacy is running out of steam over the conflict in Syria.

A lack of U.N. action will have the likely embolden Assad which will make the bloodshed in the streets even worse. Assad is now untouchable by the international community, meaning he will step up his repression efforts in the city of Hom.

 It goes both ways though. Opposition forces knowing that the West is coming to the rescue, will become more violent in their actions as well.

Nothing looks promising right now. The U.N. has been effectively sidelined. The Arab League mission in Syria collapsed in November. Russia is expected to push for democratic reforms, but Assad is moving at a glacial pace to implement them.

 Russia is clearly unwilling to press Assad to hard out of fear he’ll break or something. The ranks of the opposition FSA are swelling, but still don’t match the logistic or manpower of the Syrian army loyal to Assad.

Hope we all enjoy bloody carnage leading off our World News broadcasts because there’s more to come.