Arab League gives Syria 3 days to end 'bloody repression'

[ellisonz]

Source: LA Times

Arab League gives Syria 3 days to end 'bloody repression'
If the Assad government fails to stop the violence, the league says it will impose economic sanctions

By Patrick J. McDonnell, Los Angeles Times
November 16, 2011, 5:54 p.m.
Reporting from Beirut—

Arab foreign ministers Wednesday gave Syria three days to cease what one league official called its "bloody repression" against its people or face economic sanctions, the latest sign of President Bashar Assad's growing isolation.

The move by ministers meeting in Rabat, Morocco, came as Syria's humiliating suspension from the Arab League became effective. The 22-member organization on Saturday decided it would suspend Syria by Wednesday if it did not implement a league-brokered peace plan.

Arab states had "reached the end of the line" with the "bloody repression" by Assad's government, Sheik Hamad bin Jassim al Thani, the foreign minister of Qatar, told reporters in Rabat.

Syria, which has called the suspension illegal and a product of U.S. pressure, boycotted the Morocco meetings, its chair sitting empty. The country is a founding member of the Arab League and considers itself "the beating heart of Arab nationalism."


Read more: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-syria-violence-20111117,0,7429847.story

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. Nothing like pressure from one of their own...

I am pleased to see this.

[ellisonz]

2. I am too.

Assad must go - there is no way around it. It's just sad it's going to have to probably be by military force. The clock is ticking.

Syria faces army defectors, worldwide isolation
AP - By ELIZABETH A. KENNEDY and PAUL SCHEMM | AP – 5 hrs ago

The growing calls for Assad's ouster are a severe blow to a family dynasty that has ruled Syria for four decades — and any change to the leadership could transform some of the most enduring alliances in the Middle East and beyond.

Syria's tie to Iran is among the most important relationships in the Middle East, providing the Iranians with a foothold on Israel's border and a critical conduit to Tehran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza.

Syrian allies in Russia and China also worry that the downfall of Assad would seriously hamper their interests in the Middle East.

On the other side of the equation, Sunni powerhouse Saudi Arabia and other U.S. allies in the Mideast have long tried to break the Syria-Iran alliance in a campaign to roll back Tehran's influence in the region. Assad's fall could usher in a regime more bound to Sunni power.

http://news.yahoo.com/syria-faces-army-defectors-worldwide-isolation-204410677.html

Syria has been a proxy state for outside powers that have no interest in the well-being of peace for too long. The more isolated the regime becomes the faster the resistance will develop. We could be looking at months and not years.

[No Elephants]

3. Y'all may laugh at me, but I think the U.S. put pressure on the Arab League.

Call me naive, but that is what I believe.

[ellisonz]

4. Got any evidence?

I wouldn't deny that we have diplomatic consultation. However, I think the Arabs are perfectly capable of making decisions on their own.

[No Elephants]

6. I never said Arabs weren't capable of making decisions on their own.

BTW, not sure how you interpreted my post, but, IMO, if we put pressure on them, that would be good on us.

Do I have evidence?

No. If I did, my post would have been stated as a fact, not as something that I "think" and "believe." And I would not have suggested others might laugh at me. But, surely you picked all that up?

[ellisonz]

7. Of course...

I just get tired of seeing U.S. diplomacy presumed to be something nefarious, dictatorial, and all reaching.

My apologies if you took offense. :pals:

[MADem]

5. The King of Jordan got this little ball rolling, and good for him and the League.

I love that they're calling out the Eye Doctor--he should have stuck to that line of work and transitioned to a democratic system when his daddy died. He's a shitty dictator. Everyone thought, when he took over, that he'd lean towards increasing freedoms, but he has over the years become the biggest fuckstick around--a total asshole. He's a disgrace, and you've got to figure he is a total, brutal failure when the people of Syria are fondly remembering the good old Happy Days under despotic Hafez!

[ellisonz]

8. Absolute power corrupts absolutely.

[MADem]

9. +1. nt