Friday is the biggest day of the week for protests followed by brutal repression in Syria. Today was relatively quiet since only 13 of the protesters were killed. The total number of dead is now well over 5,000. Of course, the world's response has been a dialogue in the UN Security Council over appropriate wording for a resolution to condemn the violence. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta actually said today that there was good movement towards the world coming together to finalize that resolution. It sounded like the "pretty please" foreign policy from Obama that Mitt Romney discussed in last night's debate. The world will nicely ask Assad to stop murdering his own people.
It is appalling that the United States government has done nothing to make clear that we stand with the protesters. I do not mean that the US has to stand with those who want to overthrow Assad. That would be the logical thing to do if Obama were concerned about America's national interests, but it is not necessary. Obama should, however, make clear that America finds it intolerable to watch a government beat and murder citizens just for the "crime" of speaking out against the regime. If the USA cannot speak out forcefully for the right of free speech, then what other country can do so effectively?
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