Posted on 03/27/2011 3:34:11 PM PDT by SJackson
Soldiers take to streets in Latakia where 12 were killed in 2 days of clashes; Clinton says US deplores bloodshed in Syria but a Libya-style intervention not expected; Assad adviser says emergency law to be lifted. AMMAN - President Bashar al-Assad, facing the gravest crisis in his 11-year rule, deployed the army for the first time in nearly two weeks of protests after 12 people were killed in the northwest port of Latakia.
Assad, 45, who has been silent since protests started sweeping Syria, is expected to address the nation shortly, officials said, without giving further details.
Dozens have died in pro-democracy protests in the southern city of Deraa and nearby Sanamein, Latakia, Damascus and other towns over the last week. The government blames armed groups for setting off the bloodshed.
Soldiers took to the streets of Latakia on Saturday night to help secret police and security forces control the port, residents said. The army also beefed up checkpoints around Deraa, where Human Rights Watch says 61 people have died.
"There is a feeling in Latakia that the presence of disciplined troops is necessary to keep order," one resident told Reuters. "We do not want looting." Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Sunday the United States deplored the bloodshed in Syria but a Libya-style intervention should not be expected.
The unrest in Syria came to a head after police detained more than a dozen schoolchildren for scrawling graffiti inspired by pro-democracy protests across the Arab world. People marched, chanting: "The people want the downfall of the regime."
Such demonstrations would have been unthinkable a couple of months ago in this most tightly controlled of Arab countries.
Assad, a British-educated eye doctor, made a public pledge on Thursday to look into granting greater freedom but this has failed to dampen protests, emboldened by uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia.
Assad adviser Bouthaina Shaaban told Al Jazeera news network the emergency law hated by Syrian reformists for the far-reaching powers it gives to security services will be lifted, but did not give a timetable.
This one.
Obamaâs team clearly is taking on Libya and not Syria, Iran, or any of the other Islamist dictators is because Libya is an easy mark. They are weak militarily, not supported by the Islamists and no one will cry when defeated. For the Western powers, including us, it is nothing but a duck shoot in the fair grounds - pling, pling, pling!!!
Try the same with Syria or Iran and all hell will break loose!! Obama and Clinton are scared to death of them, doncha know!!
No, you are missing the obvious....think Israel....
Hillary "plants one" on the cheek of Suha Arafat, wife of palestinian terrorist and Nobel Peace Prize winner, Yassar Arafat.
Paid for by your friendly local union.....
It’s the African Continent thing.
That’s today’s line.
Wonder what tommorow’s will be...
World being set on fire.
Yep.
That's not necessarily in our best interests.
We should just have the French bomb Hillary.
I’m still trying to connect the dots. Why Libya? Maybe because Gaddafi is Sunni and ruling over a Shia majority, and Obama seems to prefer Shia. He has coddled Iran, and now says he won’t attack Assad (Shia) in Syria.
He has stuck with the Bush policy on Iraq (former ruler was Sunni oppressing Shia majority), has escalated in Afghanistan against Taliban (Sunni).
He has almost tripled the drone attacks in North Wajiristan (Sunni), after campaigning against “bombing villages and killing civilians”).
He seems to prefer the Hezbollah (Shia) to Israel.
Am I correct that Egypt is a majority Shia country?
Any corrections welcome, but Obama looks like he really loves the Shia for some reason.
This administration is set of buffoons. They telegraph to the Syrian tyrant that he won’t befall the same fate of Quadaffi no matter how much innocent blood he and his army goons will spiill.
However, if Israel counter-attacks so-called palestinians, all bets are off.
Al Quada is low on funds and they need the oil money.
Clinton says US deplores bloodshed in Syria but a Libya-style intervention not expected
I think we owe Ghadaffi some payback for Pan Am 103, but I dont' think that's what's happening here. But I don't think it's a Sunni-Shia thing. GWB, in Iraq and Afghanistan (and Gaza and Eqypt who ignored him) was into a vision of democracy. Perhaps naive, but a vision, aka a policy.
Our current CIC, I haven't a clue. If it's protecting civilians, we've got a big job ahead of us.
Apparently not if they are Christians.
Screw the protection, if he'd provide arms and low level training, I'd support him. But I don't think these things are priorities.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.