US Steps Up Pressure on Assad
August 18, 2011
George Lopez of the Kroc Institute for International Studies and panel discuss why the U.S. is now placing its focus on Syria.
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First, a few general statements about Syria.
There is an uprising in Syria.
There are innocent civilians being killed.
Bashar al-Assad and the army have killed innocent civilians.
However….
There are insurgent groups operating within Syria.
These groups have killed innocent civilians.
Now, out of these two groups…the Army and the "insurgents"…only one of them is intentionally killing innocent civilians and it is NOT Bashar al-Asad and the Army.
This is not to condone the heavy handed tactics and loss of life perpetuated by the Assad forces but it does at least admit that not all involved are "pro-democracy protesters" and that all loss of life has not been solely at the hands of the government.
Bashar al-Assad has been generally liked by most Syrians. When the so-called Arab Spring began, Syria was a relative oasis of calm. He has been a modest reformer and his governance has somewhat liberalized Syrian society. Just compare the difference between the Saudi Arabian populace and the people of Damascus. The difference is staggering. Assad has also brought about legislation that would open society and government even more but has been unable to allow this to progress because of the insurgency and the continued silence of the west.
Our condemnation today guarantees that what reforms Assad tried to set in motion will never get off the ground and the likelihood of anyone as secular leaning as Assad taking over is slim to none.
I deplore the loss of life but I also deplore our so called "diplomacy". If we had worked with Assad to help open Syria to the wider world, this never would have occurred. Our diplomacy is not diplomacy but the giving of ultimatums and cheering when we diplomatically apply sanctions.
Also, there is a huge danger when the bulk of our intelligence comes from dissidents and insurgents. Not everything posted on the web is true. There is also a grave danger when we are wanting and willing to believe the worst and unwilling to even consider that there may be another side to the story.
Again, what is happening in Syria is horrendous but not all blame can be placed upon Bashar al-Assad and what we've done will not help him or the Syrian people.
Sanctions and condemnation are not viable alternatives to genuine diplomacy.