Syrian Troops Advance in Hama

[alp227]

Source: Associated Press

BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian troops tightened their siege on the city of Hama Tuesday, sending residents fleeing for their lives and drawing a fresh wave of international condemnation against a regime defying the growing calls to end its crackdown on anti-government protesters.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton met with U.S.-based Syrian democracy activists as the Obama administration weighed new sanctions on Syria. Congressional calls also mounted for action against President Bashar Assad's regime, as the death toll from two days of military assaults on civilians Sunday and Monday neared 100.

Italy recalled its ambassador to Syria "in the face of the horrible repression against the civil population" by the government, which launched a new push against protesters as the Muslim holy month of Ramadan began Monday. It was the first European Union country to pull its ambassador, and the measure came a day after the EU tightened sanctions on Syria.

The mounting international outcry has had no apparent effect so far in Syria, an autocratic country that relies on Iran as a main ally in the region.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2011/08/02/world/middleeast/AP-ML-Syria.html

[David__77]

1. "Mounting international outcry?"

That's pretty melodramatic. I don't really see that.

I would like more information regarding the situation. The article makes it sound as if the Syrian military is randomly firing on totally peaceful, lawful crowds. I am not saying that is necessarily untrue, but it would be highly irrational, making no sense: peaceful protesters do not challenge the state power, so why shoot them?

[No Elephants]

3. You mean, it's something like the Boston Massacre?

[No Elephants]

2. What's the difference between Syria and Libya?

[David__77]

4. Quite a few.

Libya was much more pro-Western than Syria has been, actually. Both have been cooperative with so-called anti-terrorist efforts, but Libya was much more integrated into the Western capitalist economy.

Intervention in Syria is complicated by a host of geopolitical factors. Iran supports Syria, as does Lebanon. Syria is proximal to the State of Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Syria did not destroy its so-called weapons of mass destruction, as Libya foolishly did. These things would make any foreign intervention much more costly in a material and political sense than has been the intervention in Libya.

Regardless of the actions of Syria internally, I do not foresee a situation in which there would be any significant military intervention. That should not even concern the Syrian authorities.

[FarCenter]

5. Libya has oil

Plus Libya does not have a religious civil war between a dominant minority Allawite sect and a majority Sunni population.