China and Russia allowed the UN to authorize force to protect civilians in Libya, but they are now using that operation as a pretext to oppose any UN action regarding Syria. Meanwhile, having found themselves in a stalemate in Libya, NATO forces are not even contemplating taking military action to protect civilians in Syria. Turkey has announced that they’re creating a second tent-city to deal with the flood of refugees.
All the West can muster in defense of Syria’s people is a weak proposal to condemn Assad’s actions and notify him that he “may” be committing war crimes. I suppose it’s nice to go on the record about such things, and it’s possible that Russia and China may even agree to sign-off on this mere slap on the wrist. But I don’t think Assad wants to be put on trial for his life at home like former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. He has more to fear from that precedent than a trial in The Hague. That’s why I earlier recommended that Egypt show some restraint in dealing with Mubarak…not because he deserves it, but because it makes it harder to dislodge Gaddafi and Assad.
I don’t have any answers for how the international community should handle Syria differently, although I note that Russia and China are not very helpful. I don’t recommend military action, and confiscating the leaderships’ wealth abroad presents little more than an inconvenience. Assad should be a complete pariah in the region, not only for what he has been doing over the last couple of months, but for his long-time alliance with Iran, his meddling in Lebanon, and his harboring of Hamas’ leadership. Yet, he has good friends in Moscow, Beijing, Tel Aviv, Washington, and even Riyadh. Those friendships should end.
