"Mr. Assad’s cruelty and blindness were predictable. What is unfathomable is why Russia and China continue to protect him. They have blocked the Security Council from imposing any sanctions.
. . . .
Eight months ago, President Obama said 'the time has come for President Assad to step aside.'"
Well, one year ago, notwithstanding overwhelming evidence of the Syrian president's monstrous suppression of the revolt against his regime, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton came to Bashar al-Assad's defense (see: http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/syrias-reformer/2011/03/31/AFy4JFCC_story.html):
"Many of the members of Congress of both parties who have gone to Syria in recent months have said they believe he’s a reformer."
As I have stated in the past, the US Secretary of State was defending a ruthless killer of unarmed civilians, who had also ordered the assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri, a friend of the West, in 2005. Why did Hillary go to bat for Assad? Because her boss, Obama, had invested more than two years trying to demonstrate that Syria and Iran had been "misunderstood" by the Bush administration and could be charmed into behaving civilly. In fact, this was the centerpiece of his foreign policy.
Who were those members of Congress who foolishly believed that Assad was a "reformer"? There was Nancy Pelosi, who declared, after meeting this butcher in Damascus in 2007, that Assad was a "model Arab leader" (http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2011/03/assad_fooled_us_twice_shame_on.html).
Then there was also John Kerry. As reported by The Wall Street Journal in March 2011 (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703576204576227131356932482.html):
"A key supporter of Mr. Assad in Washington has been Sen. John Kerry, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The former presidential candidate has held nearly a half-dozen meetings with Mr. Assad in recent years, according to this staff. The two men have sought to map out the terms of a renewed Syrian-Israel peace track.
Even this month, as protests starting gripping Syria, Mr. Kerry said he thought Syria's president was an agent for change.
'President Assad has been very generous with me in terms of the discussions we have had,' Mr. Kerry said during a March speech at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. 'I think it's incumbent on us to try to move that relationship forward in the same way.'"
And while we're at it, let's not forget former president Jimmy Carter, who repeatedly met with Assad and boasted that he had known the Syrian leader since he was a college student.
But what about Obama himself? At the end of 2010, Obama appointed an ambassador, Robert Ford, to Damascus, without Senate confirmation, for the first time since the murder by Assad of Lebanese Prime Minister Hariri. Needless to say, Obama barely said a word in early 2011 when Assad began mowing down protesters, but grew uneasy when the number of dead began spiraling into the thousands.
Both the US and the EU were delinquent in imposing sanctions upon the purchase of oil from Syria, and even the Times acknowledged that it had taken Obama too long to call for Assad to step down (http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/19/opinion/truth-about-syria.html?_r=1&ref=opinion).
As the Times now informs us, Assad’s cruelty and blindness were indeed "predictable," and those who read this blog know:
• In December 2010, I denounced Obama's appointment of Robert Ford as ambassador to Syria (http://jgcaesarea.blogspot.com/2010/12/like-thief-in-night-obama-appoints.html).
• In April 2011, I asked that the US ambassador to Damascus be recalled (http://jgcaesarea.blogspot.com/2011/04/recall-us-ambassador-to-syria-now-shame.html).
• In June 2011, I predicted that there would be a savage civil war in Syria (http://jgcaesarea.blogspot.com/2011/07/syria-beginning-of-savage-civil-war.html).
Today's Times editorial concludes:
"The best approach would be a United Nations arms embargo and the toughest possible economic sanctions — if China and Russia will not block the Council."
Well, China and Russia are going to block the Council, and meanwhile we now know, following his recent open microphone gaffe, that Obama is promising concessions to Putin after he is reelected. This is hardly the way to pressure Moscow.
Sickening.
No comments:
Post a Comment