US urges Syria to show restraint over protests

[oberliner]

Source: AFP

WASHINGTON — The United States on Monday urged Syria to exercise restraint against anti-government demonstrators as it renewed its condemnation of the Syrian government's violent crackdown.

"We condemn the violence by the Syrian government that caused the deaths and injuries of individuals that protested in Syria ...over the past week," Mark Toner, a State Department spokesman, told reporters.

"We call on the Syrian government to exercise restraint and refrain from violence against these ...protesters," Toner said.

"We call on the Syrian government to live up to its obligations under the universal declaration of human rights and allow the Syrian people to exercise the universal right of assembly," he said.

Read more: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5ipLl3yeb_p-BMEyqG7WM2O9PYSbg?docId=CNG.e623321b6a9f7efb561fd470f40817bf.9d1

[msongs]

1. warn today, no fly zone tomorrow - let's make the whole world a no fly zone nt

[sabrina 1]

2. What about the protesters in Afghanistan and Pakistan who have

been demanding that the slaughter of their civilians be stoppd for years now? Have we condemned those killings?

I suppose it's hard to condemn yourself, easy to point fingers elsewhere but the hypocrisy is no longer lost on the rest of the world.

Pakistanis protest civilian deaths in U.S. drone attacks



Saddam Hussain, 13, came to demonstrate in Islamabad, against U.S. drone strikes, December 10, 2010. He lost a 10-month-old niece and a sister-in-law to a drone strike on his house in 2009. | Saeed Shah/MCT

ISLAMABAD — Victims of U.S. drone attacks in Pakistan took to the streets for the first time here Friday, as a new report claims that there are significant numbers of civilian casualties from the strikes and a lawsuit seeks hundreds of millions of dollars in damages from the CIA for those mistakenly injured or killed.

This is something we could do something about. We could just stop killing them.

It's almost laughable for the U.S. to condemn the killing of civilians anywhere other than right in their own backyard. Which is constantly being pointed out around the world now. It takes some incredible gall to believe you still have any moral authority left after the past ten years of killing and torture we have been engaged in.



.

[Alamuti Lotus]

3. that doesn't count, they were killed by The Good Guys

TOTALLY different, or so I'm told.

[cosmicone]

8. Pakistan has unclean hands. It is a state sponsor of terrorism. n/t

[IamK]

10. bad name to get sympathy...

[pampango]

4. Can't argue with that. No government should shoot protesters.

"Thousands of Syrians Monday marched in the southern town of Daraa, a day after Syrian security forces opened fire on protesters there, with rights activists saying they killed at least one person and wounded more than 100.

A Syrian official denied the reported death.

Meanwhile, an 11-year-old boy injured when Syrian security forces dispersed an earlier protest rally in Daraa died of his wounds on Monday, a human rights activist said.

Four protesters were killed Friday and hundreds wounded by security forces in Daraa, rights groups said, as demonstrations erupted across Syria in the first such show of discontent under Bashar al-Assad's rule."

[sabrina 1]

6. Have we said anything about the Iraqi government

shooting protesters last week? 29 Iraqi protesters were shot and killed when they went out to protest and many were hauled away and thrown in jail and no doubt tortured by our trained Iraqi police. Bradley Manning did try to stop that torture, but so far as I know, no law-breaking torturer has been arrested.

Actually a comment was made by the U.S. Ambassador in Iraq regarding the murder of those protesters. He mumbled something about the Iraqi Govt. not being known for this kind of thing, and that he believed that 'people have the right to protest'. I couldn't tell from his comments if he was defending the govt or trying not to mention it at all.

[dbackjon]

5. Watch out Syria - you are on the "Bad" Dictator's list

Only "good" dictators are allowed to oppress the opposition.

[oberliner]

11. Do you seriously think the US will invade Syria?

That seems a little far fetched at this point.

[dbackjon]

13. No, I don't

Was more commenting on the good vs bad dictators we support as a country

[oberliner]

14. Gotcha

Yes, we are very inconsistent in that regard.

But I guess that every "superpower" country is the same way (look at China, for instance).

[Marblehead]

7. syria is on the list

[IamK]

9. "show restraint cause we won't...."

[Baclava]

12. "Exercise restraint"........or what?

We calling out Syria now?

An "Arab League" member that gave the green light to our attacks in Libya? ....confused much?


More death from above?



Odyssey Dawn Units Identified: The Air Force has identified units that participated in the attacks against Libyan military targets in the opening salvos of Operation Odyssey Dawn this past weekend.

In addition to B-2 stealth bombers from the 509th Bomb Wing at Whiteman AFB, Mo., the Air Force sent F-15Es from the 492nd Fighter Squadron and 494th FS at RAF Lakenheath, Britain, as well as F-16CJs from the 480th FS at Spangdahlem AB, Germany.

The B-2s struck combat aircraft shelters at Ghardabiya Airfield in Libya, and, based on post-strike photos that the Pentagon displayed, precisely hit them.

The F-15Es and F-16CJs attacked ground forces loyal to Libyan ruler Muammar Gadhafi that were advancing on opposition forces in Benghazi and threatening civilians.

http://www.airforce-magazine.com/Pages/default.aspx