Continue reading: Hillary Stamps Her Foot; Dictators Laugh
by Barry Rubin
“Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Wednesday condemned violence in Syria and said the Syrian government must stop the arbitrary arrest, detention and torture of prisoners.”
There’s a problem with that word “must.” See, you cannot have it both ways. You cannot help overthrow or move away from allies, stress your own weakness, decry your past leadership and use of violence, and appease radicals without losing a certain amount of credibility.
What’s the United States going to do if the Syrian regime continues arbitrary arrest, detention and torture of prisoners? Isn’t Hillary Clinton the person who called Syria’s dictator a reformer? Isn’t head of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and potential next secretary of state John Kerry praising the repressive Syrian dictatorship?
(seventh edition), The Long War for Freedom: The Arab Struggle for Democracy in the Middle East
(Wiley), and The Truth About Syria
(Palgrave-Macmillan). His latest book is Israel: An Introduction, to be published by Yale University Press later this year. You can read more of Barry Rubin's posts at Rubin Reports, and now on his new blog, Rubin Reports, on Pajamas MediaTechnorati Tag: Hillary Clinton and Syria and Middle East.
Hillary reminds me of a scolding mother. You know its never going be harsh punishment.
ReplyDeleteIf all Assad hears is a few angry words, its not much of a price for killing hundreds of unarmed civilians in his country in cold blood.
Its no price at all.