Obama: Syria's 'Outrageous' Violence Must End Now

[Purveyor]

(04-22) 15:35 PDT WASHINGTON, (AP) --

President Barack Obama is condemning the latest use of force by Syria against anti-government demonstrators and says the regime's "outrageous" use of violence against the protesters must "end now."

At least 75 people were killed Friday when Syrian security forces fired bullets and tear gas at thousands of protesters across the country. It was the bloodiest day of the monthlong uprising against President Bashar Assad.

In a statement, Obama says Syria's moves a day earlier to repeal a decades-old emergency law and allow peaceful demonstrations were not serious in light of Friday's events.

MORE...

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2011/04/22/national/w153544D26.DTL

Keep our fucking nose out of this, Mr. President!!!

[Dkc05]

1. What a mess.

We must clean up Assad's reign of terror. Seems that nobody else will.

[Purveyor]

2. Like hell we do. I'm sick of the broke USA playing the worlds nanny. eom

[Dkc05]

3. Syria might become our 57th state.

Need to save them to protect israel and Lebanon .

[totodeinhere]

21. Michael Moore - America is not broke.

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/mike-friends-blog/america-is-not-broke

[msongs]

4. meanwhile the USA is killing people in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and where else? nt

[dixiegrrrrl]

6. Well, if you count indirectly, in Bahrain, Yemen, the Sudan, and of course, Libya.

Plus all the people in the USA dying from lack of medical care, nutrition, heat,, and in the case of Gulf of Mexico,
poisoning from Corexit and other toxins from the BP disaster.
Oh, yes, not to mention the still dying first responders on 9-11, and the returning troops from all our little wars.

edited to add:
"Over the past four years since the making of SiCKO, Michael Moore's 2007 documentary, an estimated 45,000 people each and every year have died simply because they lacked access to healthcare"
from a recent thread:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x943539

Aren't ya glad you asked?

[indepat]

7. Hopefully no Libyans will be killed by drones, but if so, such would be only regrettable

collateral damage and we all know those killed as collateral damage by the guys who wear the white hats don't count, as if by magic, they are not really dead. Neither are the maimed actually maimed. :patriot:

[tekisui]

24. We've recently killed in Libya and Yemen as well.

[rug]

5. Do the humanitarian thing and launch the drones.

[Arctic Dave]

8. Is it me or is he acting more and more like bush as time goes on.

The disconnect is starting to wear thin. Or should I say the warmongering.

[Dkc05]

9. Bush on steroids

So sad.

[KoKo]

11. I don't know who he is, anymore. And, tired of trying to figure out...

:eyes:

[jenmito]

13. He's being consistent with his past statements, including his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech.

[jenmito]

12. It's you. Obama is doing what he said he'd do re: Iraq and Afghanistan,

and his involvement with Libya is consistent with his speech given during his acceptance of the Nobel Peace Prize. And he didn't say anything about sending troops into Syria (or Libya for that matter). And he's not playing any fear card to lie us into any wars.

[Arctic Dave]

14. Killing more people and dropping bombs on more countries, what a hero.

But it's ok, the host country allows us to murder it's citizens so alls cool.

As for the NPP, what a disgrace of a once prestigious award.

Rah rah!

[jenmito]

18. Again...

he is NOT like Bush at ALL. He is not "warmongering," nor lying us into wars. He's trying to kill our real enemies in Afghanistan and Pakistan. And in Libya, he is only doing what the Libyan people (along with the Arab League, France, England, etc.) wanted us to do-to stop the slaughter of Libyans. Did you see the people thanking Obma and holding American flags? That is NOT because we're invading their country. We're NOT. And you should know better.

[tekisui]

19. He's lying to keep us in wars. There is adifference.

[jenmito]

25. HOW is he lying to keep us in wars?

[tekisui]

26. By claiming that drone strikes in Pakistan and escalation in Afghanistan

is somehow in the interest of our national security.

[jenmito]

31. Pakistan is where the most high-level al Qaeda are...

and striking them from Afghanistan is what he's doing, and what he campaigned on doing, saying he wanted to concentrate on "AfPak," which Bush ignored.

[tekisui]

32. I doesn't matter what he campagined on.

Dropping bombs in Pakistan is not making us more secure and is not in our national interest. We are just fomenting more hate for the US and radicalizing another generation.

[jenmito]

40. Yes it does.

And it IS making us safe to get the bad guys. Pakistan is allowing it. Also, in Libya, we're doing what the Libyans WANTED us to do. Did you miss the Libyans thanking Obama and waving American flags?

[tekisui]

42. I'm not talking about Libya, although it has nothing to do with our security.

I am talking about Afghanistan and Pakistan. Killing civilians with frequent drone strikes in Pakistan and occupying Afghanistan for a decade are not integral to our security. In fact, it is making us less secure. We are creating more bad guys through our actions. There will be blowback from this for decades.

Also, Pakistan is increasingly vocal against the strikes and has taken the act of closing one of their air bases to us.

[Arctic Dave]

37. American flags! You don't say. Who has the perception management contract for this war?

As for thanking Obama, remember, they did the same thing for bush.

But hey, knock yourself out with your murder logic for the fearless leader. Which country should Obam start killing people in next because we don't like their leadership? There seem to be quite a few right now doing no less then MG did.

[jenmito]

41. This is NOT a war. This is a humanitarian mission that the Libyan people begged us to help them

with. Let me know when you see them burning the American flag and burning Obama in effigy. Until then, you're wrong.

[Gravel Democrat]

47. "This is NOT a war." What would anyone in Washington DC call it if

some other country was dropping "humanitarian bombs" on any single spot of the USA?

Please. You can call lobbing bombs into a sovereign country anything you want but it doesn't make it so.

"One day I woke up in a land of Hypocrisy and there seemed to be no going back.
I yelled and screamed but it was as if I didn't exist"
anonymous

[jenmito]

50. We, unlike Libya, have a president that we fairly elected. We don't have a dictator.

If we DID have a dictator who was oppressing us and we finally decided we had enough of him and wanted to get rid of him, and we needed help stopping the govt.'s minions from coming into NY with promises of killing us all, and we asked another country which had a strong military to HELP us by stopping them with THEIR bombs, I'd hope we'd GET that help. Well, Libya (along with the Arab League and European countries) asked for our help and they got it.

[Arctic Dave]

52. You have some of the most powerful mental disconnect I've seen in a while.

There are countries right now doing the same thin MG did and we are not lifting a finger. Explain this if you would. They seem to want their "dictator" gone but we seem to think they are better off with them.

I am beginning to think you are just doing this as a gag and don't truley believe this nonsense you are spouting on this forum.

[jenmito]

54. You obviously see things incorrectly.

When the people of those other countries along with the Arab League and several other countries ask us to help them, like they did in Libya, let me know.

[Arctic Dave]

48. This IS a war. Since when do humanitarian mission drop bombs and murder people?

Most missions of those type usually involve food, water and shelter not Tomohawks and air sorties.

Take off your rose colored glasses and join the reality based community.

[jenmito]

51. My post right above yours applies to your post, too. n/t

[killbotfactory]

15. Obama has condemned all the political violence occurring the the region

What a shithead.

[Arctic Dave]

38. Yeah, right before he orders more violence in the region.

Kinda ironic huh.

[Mimosa]

16. Arctive Dave, the war mongering is making me lose sleep and sick.

That you and other good people are seeing what I'm seeing, and that we all care, is reassuring. *hug*

I wish we could stop the madness.

[KoKo]

10. when do we invade? or, do we just send in the "Drones?"

Seriously...why should he even address this, unless he's prepared to take action there? :shrug:

[Mimosa]

17. *Send in the Drones...there ought to be drones...*

Didn't Judy Collins sing the song back in the 1960s?

[tekisui]

20. We are going to have drones killing in dozens of countries at this rate.

[totodeinhere]

22. Are we going to get anyone in this thread to condemn this senseless violence?

It seems that everyone would rather talk about Bush and Obama and anything else except for Assad's appalling reign of terror.

[JoePhilly]

23. More fun to blame Obama ...

If he speaks out about the violence, he's bad.
If he tries to do anything about it, he's bad.

But ... if he can stop it while not doing anything about it at the same time, then ... naaa ... still bad.

[KoKo]

28. When a President says "...it must end"...that implies he has power to stop it...

We aren't the world's police force. But, wait...he will send in the drones.

[totodeinhere]

30. Do you believe that Assad should be allowed continue his genocide?

And of course Obama does have the military power to stop it, so he isn't implying anything. However, he has said that he intends to work with the international community to stop it through non military means.

I agree that we should not be the world's police force. But as humanitarians we should act with other nations to do our best to stop genocide. It's the only moral thing to do. We should have tried to stop the genocide in Rwanda but we didn't and now Bill Clinton says that it's one of the biggest regrets of his presidency that he didn't try to do something.

[KoKo]

33. How is what Assad does have anything to do with my Job, Health or Security in this Terrible Economy?

If you want to say Assad is raising our Gas Prices...you might have an argument. But, I would counter you and say our Invasion of Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and now Libya ..plus our CIA Involvement all over the world and our Military Bases and Power are causing more to pit people against us and cause destabiliztion that causes our Oil Prices to rise.

Why not just pay these people a F**ing FAIR PRICE TO BUY THE OIL, MINERAL RIGHTS and the REST ...But, instead we sent our Military to take over countries so we can steal their mineral rights and install puppet governments for Big Oil and Big Mining Interests!

It doesn't work. The prices keep going up and we send our kids and National Guard Older folks off to fight for BIG OIL, MINERAL,MINING and BIG PHARMA along with Military Industrial Complex other "hangers on!" THIS HAS TO STOP. WE JUST CANNOT AFFORD THIS ANYMORE!

[totodeinhere]

39. But you are missing the point. Even if everything you say is true, Assad should not be murdering his

people. And yes, Assad might not have anything to do with your job, health or security. But the world is not just about you. The lives of those innocent Syrians being murdered are just as valuable as your life. So even if trying to stop the genocide doesn't specifically have an impact on your life, it remains the right and moral thing to do.

[KoKo]

43. It is not moral to go into another country and kill the people there.

It is not moral for our country to deny it's own people services while we spend money intervening in countries, installing puppet governments after we kill the people there that we feel it's our right to do because some think tanks and Pentagon interests target who they want to be in charge there.

We would not find it moral if people from other countries came in and decided what kind of government they want us to have (judging who are the "good guys & bad guys") and bombing, air striking and sending in drones and secret operatives to fight and cause "collateral damage." We would not find that moral.

We cannot afford this killing to decide who rules a country. It's up to their own people to fight their battles within their own sovereign countries. Not up to Americans to judge or we shall be judged at some point and found wanting.

[totodeinhere]

46. Where did I say that we should go in there and install a puppet government?

You must be confusing Obama with Bush. Obama has said that he wants to use non military means to try to stop the humanitarian disaster going on in Syria in concert with other countries. And meanwhile, you can't even bring yourself to condemn this brutal dictator who is murdering his own people.

[BlueIris]

27. Great, so...Syria's next? Ew. nt

[KoKo]

34. We've sent in the Drones...as of yesterday...The drones are the first step to "Boots"

on the ground. We've seen this before ...how things escalate once we start killing folks in other countries at random. "Collateral Damage" they call it. How would you like YOUR FAMILY to be called Collateral Damage...killed by some kid in Arkansas with a "Game Boy" type box...sending off the Drone based on some bogus CIA Agent's call that one of your visiting family members is what US/NATO decides is a "TERRORIST CELL."

HELL...they think most AMERICANS are TERRORISTS! Check out TSA and BODY GROPING when we go to Fly to visit Relatives or for Business or Pleasure anywhere in the USA TODAY! Toddlers, Teens, Parents, Grannies, Crippled or Maimed. We are all subject to "collateral damage" from groping Pedophiles or overly aggressive hires of the TSA..under our Bush and now Obama Administrations.

Where does this end? ARE WE ALL...EVENTUALLY...JUST COLLATERAL DAMAGE? :shrug:

[dflprincess]

35. Depends -

has Assad threatened to nationalize their oil? As long as he plays along with the oil companies, we'll stay out - unless the protesters gain the upper hand and begin to threaten the interests of BP, Shell, etal then we'll go in to protect the status quo.

[KoKo]

44. We provide the Armies for the Corporations to use in countries they want to control the resources of

You are correct. If it's in oil or mineral or mining companies interest...we will put the boots on ground and occupy for however long it takes to get a "ruler" that can be controlled by Corporate interests.

Meanwhile at home we sacrifice for this...after having Wall Street and Banksters take our money to pay off their ill gotten spoils from criminal activity.

Who has gone to jail for the crimes of these people against ordinary American Citizens?

[dflprincess]

45. Tom Lehrer's "Send the Marines" said it all in 1965

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHhZF66C1Dc

When someone makes a move
Of which we don't approve,
Who is it that always intervenes?
U.N. and O.A.S.,
They have their place, I guess,
But first send the Marines!

We'll send them all we've got,
John Wayne and Randolph Scott,
Remember those exciting fighting scenes?
To the shores of Tripoli,
But not to Mississippoli,

What do we do? We send the Marines!
For might makes right,
And till they've seen the light,
They've got to be protected,
All their rights respected,
'Till somebody we like can be elected.

Members of the corps
All hate the thought of war,
They'd rather kill them off by peaceful means.
Stop calling it aggression,
O we hate that expression.
We only want the world to know
That we support the status quo.
They love us everywhere we go,
So when in doubt,
Send the Marines!

[KoKo]

49. +1...so true..

[xchrom]

29. really mr obama? our incarceration rate should really give you pause from

criticizing anybody.

:eyes:

[Vidar]

36. But "'Outrageous' Violence" is just fine as long as its just ourcollateral

damage to supposed allies.

[bullwinkle428]

53. FOUR MORE WARS!