Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Syria: Butchery Ignored by Arab Neighbors

Homework: Go to the home page of The Saudi Gazette (http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?) today and see if there is any mention of the violent unrest, approaching a civil war, in Syria. Although the lead story concerning the increase in prices of cucumbers and zucchinis on the first day of Ramadan might indeed be of interest to you, there is not a single mention of Syria. Why? Because when Arab despots kill their own citizens, it is considered an internal affair, which is not to be broached with foreigners, even if 1,600 persons have been slaughtered and another 3,000 have "disappeared" (see: http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/meast/07/28/syria.disappeared.website/index.html?hpt=hp_mid).

Equally astounding is the silence of the so-called "peace activists," who were intent upon creating a media stir involving their efforts to break the Israeli maritime blockade of Gaza, but are unmoved when Assad's tanks attack the residents of Hama.

As I stated two weeks ago (http://jgcaesarea.blogspot.com/2011/07/assad-is-finished-obama-again-on-wrong.html), this will not continue much longer. Ultimately, elements of the Syrian army will defect, and Assad will fly with his family to Iran. All that remains to be seen is whether Syria's Sunnis will be intent upon inflicting revenge upon the ruling Alawite minority.

Meanwhile, Italy has recalled its ambassador to Damascus for consultations, owing to Assad's onslaught against the civilian population. Why has Obama not recalled US ambassador Ford? Yet another instance of leading from behind?

1 comment:

  1. Well, for Ford's sake, I certainly hope he's somewhere safer than the US embassy in Damascus. This is what it looked like after in was overrun by Assad's "reformers":
    http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2011/0711/Syria-Pro-Assad-protesters-attack-US-embassy-in-Damascus

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