Obama says President Bashar Assad must resign. Clinton has stressed that no one would impose a transition in Syria. I suspect this is code for if someone wants to take over Syria, America will not get in the way. Sources reported Clinton urged caution that the U.S. should not appear highhanded or meddlesome in a region where suspicion of U.S. motives is already rampant. The U.S. has asked that other countries stop purchasing Syrian oil and freeze Syrian assets in foreign banks similar to what the U.S. has done. These actions are "diplomacy" - Whitehouse style. Only a blind person could see these actions as anything other than highhanded and meddlesome.
I am not an isolationist, but I wonder how far America can go to protect the world from despots. Further, if America's, England's, France's and Germany's leaders all agree that Assad must go, then why not just do it. If he has committed as many atrocities on his own people as even the Economist has reported, then surely there is plenty of moral high ground to justify a missile or two.
The reports I have read agree that economic sanctions are worthless cards to play in a world economy where items like oil are fungible. Further, according to the last issue of the Economist, while Obama will be unleashing his family on Martha's vineyard, Assad will be unleashing his tanks and airforce on Syrian protesters.
August is the month of Ramadan. Ramadan is the month of contemplation and fasting for Muslims in which they refrain from eating, drinking and sex with their partners - during the daylight hours. I expect that all hell breaks loose in the evenings. Ramadan is allegedly a spiritual time in the life of Muslims. I can only imagine what Assad will do when this religious month of contemplation and spirituality is complete.
What else can I say?
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