World Needs U.S. to
Step Up and Defend Syrian Protesters
"In their quest for
liberation, the Syrian people are facing repression, arrest, and mass murder, yet
the U.S. and its allies just look on, satisfied with issuing statements of
disapproval and denunciation. These are of no use to the Syrian people."
Syrian protesters shout call for President Bashar al-Assad to step down, during a demonstration in front of the Syrian Embassy in Amman, Jordan, Apr. 17.
Why is the United States
content with merely criticizing the events in Syria?
The opinion of the United
States is respected by the countries and peoples of the world, not because it
is the greatest power in the world. Not because it has the largest economy in
the world, and not even because it is the most developed country in the world. It
is respected because the U.S. is the largest democracy in the world and because
it is the world's leading protector of human rights. Because of this, America
has played a role in toppling autocratic and tyrannical regimes in a large
number of countries.
We remember when the Syrian
army roamed Lebanon and controlled the affairs of the Lebanese people. We
remember when Syria's sectarian regime master-minded the assassination of former
Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq
al-Hariri because Hariri wanted pride, dignity and progress for the
Lebanese people. We remember when, after Hariri's assassination, the United
States ordered the Syrian regime to withdraw its army from Lebanon, and that immediately,
Syria's autocratic regime did what the U.S. had asked it to do - even before
the U.S. deadline for withdrawal. Now the Syrian people want to be free of this
regime of oppression, injustice, sectarianism, and Al-Safawi Iranian influence. The
Syrian people have begun their revolution, their uprising, which is growing
larger by the day, despite the hundreds of martyrs who have given their lives to
the movement.
Posted by WORLDMEETS.US
[Editor's Note: While Syria
is 87 percent Muslim, only 13 percent are Shiite. President Bashar al-Assad is
a member of the Alawi branch of Shiism, which means he rules as a member of a
small Shiite religious group in a largely Sunni country. This also may explain,
some say, Assad's apparent affinity for the Shiite regime in Tehran. Critics
charge that only by playing various sects against one another, has the Assad
regime lasted since 1971].
In their quest for
liberation, the Syrian people are facing repression, arrest, and mass murder, yet
the U.S. and its allies just look on, satisfied with issuing statements of
disapproval and denunciation. These are of no use to the Syrian people. What they
want is for the U.S. to raise the issue of oppression and massacre at the U.N.
Security Council. They also want the International Criminal Court to be
commissioned with investigating the situation in Syria and punishing Syrian
leaders who issue orders for repression, mass killing and arrests. Furthermore, the
Syrian people want the United States to issue a very strongly-worded statement
to the regime to stop its inhumane actions. Now that people have been martyred
in the pursuit of victory and of freedom, Syrians won't just stop in the middle of
the road.
In the face of Syrian people
suffering repression and mass murder during their uprising, the U.S. position
is surprising, especially considering America's role as protector of liberty. The
position of the Democratic administration of Barack Obama should be at least as
strong as previous Republican administrations in regard to standing up for the
freedom of all peoples, including the Syrian people, who are now confronting
the brutality of their own ruling regime and the Iranian one also. The Iranian
regime is supported by the aggression and injustice in Syria; the Syrian regime
is the best at helping Iran implement its agenda in the Arab world. This is a
traitor regime that gives sectarianism priority over the Syrian national
interest.
