Gutsy Call: U.S. To Impose Sanctions on Assad

He must be trembling in his boots.

The US is to impose sanctions on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for human rights abuses, sources have said.

It would be the first time Mr Assad has been targeted personally by the international community for his government's crackdown on protesters.

President Barack Obama last month imposed sanctions on his brother Maher, his cousin and an intelligence chief.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Tuesday that the US would be taking "additional steps" against Syria.

That's sure to involve lots of finger wagging and sternly-worded letters of condemnation.

Sure doesn't look as if the Syrians are backing off.

Stunner: Syria Drops Bid to Join UN Human Rights Council

I guess the image of murdering your own citizens in public while pretending to care about human rights isn't going over well. What Bashar Assad needs to do is become a little more versed with a teleprompter, talk hopeychangey stuff and lay off the crushing of dissent for a little while. Next thing you know he'll be running the human rights show at the UN and, who knows, there could be a Nobel Peace Prize in his future.

Syria dropped its bid for a seat on the UN Human Rights Council Tuesday following pressure from UN members. As Syria’s crackdown on anti-government protests continues, France's UN ambassador said it was "really not the time" for Syrian membership.

Whose time is it? North Korea, perhaps?

Several U.N. diplomats told Reuters on condition of anonymity that Kuwait had confirmed to Western officials that it planned to declare its candidacy for a spot on the 47-nation Human Rights Council in the Asian category.

They said Syria planned to trade candidacies with Kuwait, which was slated to run for the rights council in 2013, and drop out of the 2011 race for one of the four spots available to Asian countries. Other Asian candidates running this year are India, Indonesia and the Philippines.

Ah yes, Kuwait, the longtime home of liberal democracy or something.

Here's the understatement of the year:

"It is not really the time for Syria to become a member of the council of human rights," French U.N. Ambassador Gerard Araud told reporters on Monday.

Like I said, pay a little lip service toward "freedom" and "transparency" and there's a spot waiting for you, Bashie.

Of course this council is a complete joke, something the grown-ups in Washington used to recognize.

The United States under former President George W. Bush had shunned the rights council, considering it a tool of anti-Israeli forces at the United Nations.

President Barack Obama reversed that policy two years ago, saying the United States could improve the rights council from within. The United States ran for and secured a seat.

Had Syria won a seat on the council, it would have followed other states accused of human rights abuses by rights watchdog groups including China, Russia and Saudi Arabia.

Yes, that really worked out. Another win for Obama!

Muammar Gaddafi's Libya is a member of the rights council, but the General Assembly suspended its membership rights in response to its violent crackdown this year against anti-government demonstrators that sparked a civil war.

Despite Slaughter, Syria 'All But Assured' to Be Elected to UN Human Rights Council

Why should a little slaughter prevent Syria from ascending to a seat on the prestigious UN Human Rights Council?

In a move reminiscent of his brutal father, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has dispatched his armed forces to try to snuff out the country’s five-week-old democratic uprising.

Thousands of Syrian troops backed by tanks and armoured personnel carriers stormed the southern city of Daraa on Monday, killing as many as 25 people, witnesses said. It was the first time the Syrian regime has resorted to such extreme measures against civilians in the current crisis.

“This is monumental,” said Barry Rubin, director of the Global Research in International Affairs Centre in Herzliya, Israel, and author of The Truth About Syria. “All the Arab regimes have a three-level priority of response,” he explained.

At the level one, “they hope the protests will go away and can be waited out.” At level two, “they respond with a mixture of repression and promises,” just the way Mr. al-Assad has, Mr. Rubin said. At level three, they resort to “heavy repression and killing people in order to destroy the protests and intimidate people from participation.”

“Assad has now gone to the third level,” Mr. Rubin said, noting that “even in the Shah’s Iran in 1978, as well as Egypt and Tunisia in 2011, the regimes did not go to level three because large elements in the elite did not want to do so.”

But hey, the folks at the UN have their priorities.

Human rights groups and a growing number of governments are working to prevent Syria from being elected to the U.N.'s top human rights body, as President Bashar Assad's security forces crack down on pro-democracy protesters.

Syria's election to the Geneva-based Human Rights Council is all but assured as one of four candidates selected to fill four Asian seats unless another candidate enters the race or Syria fails to win a majority of votes in the May 20 election in the 192-member General Assembly.

Since the 53-member Asian Group endorsed its slate — which also includes India, Indonesia and the Philippines — for the council in January, rights groups and some governments have engaged in a behind-the-scenes effort to keep Syria off the council.

Those efforts have gathered steam since a crackdown on pro-democracy protests since mid-March has left more than 350 dead and hundreds wounded, diplomats said.

One diplomat involved in the process, speaking on condition of anonymity because the consultations are private, said he was confident that another country would be found to contest the election but declined to say which countries were being pursued.

Meanwhile, the White House has sprung into action and is now "considering" sanctions. That ought to scare the pants off Assad.

The White House is considering new sanctions against Syria amid a crackdown by that country’s government against pro-democracy demonstrators.

Syria is one of only four countries on the State Sponsors of Terrorism List and is already subject to heavy sanctions, limiting U.S. options.

As a result, new sanctions are expected to focus on the assets of Syrian officials close to President Bashar al-Assad. Such a strategy would mimic actions taken by the U.S. against Libyan dictator Col. Moammar Gadhafi.

Obviously that's been such a success that Gadhafi is still in power. So why would Assad even blink?

U.S. President Barack Obama's direct attack on Assad's regime did little to deter the Syrian president, who apparently decided to escalate violence against the opposition on the assumption that the international community will not take dramatic steps against Syria - that is a similar move to the bombing campaign in Libya.

Assad is, in effect, mocking his international critics. He clearly has little interest in the international community's condemnation. He has understood that the reforms he offered the Syrian public not only did not quell the unrest, but may have even added fuel to the fire.

The Noose Tightens as Libyan Rebels Flee

Our fearless wartime Commander-in-Chief might want to update his talking points. Here he is Tuesday interrupting his New York fundraising blitz to again repeat his stale line about the noose tightening on Moammar Khadafy.

With the end game in Libya still unclear, President Obama said Tuesday that Col. Moammar Khadafy's grip on power cannot last much longer.

"The noose has tightened around him," Obama told CBS News.

"Khadafy's camp, people around him, are starting to recognize that their options are limited and their days are numbered," he said.

"But that information may not have filtered to Khadafy yet."

Obviously it hasn't "filtered" to him yet since his forces are beating the snot out of the rebels according to the latest reports.

Libyan rebels have withdrawn from the oil town of Ras Lanuf under bombardment from Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's forces, exposing their weakness without Western support.

The rapid reverse comes just two days after the rebels raced westwards along the coastal road in pursuit of the Libyan dictator's forces.

The government army had seen its tanks and artillery demolished in five days of coalition aerial assault in the town of Ajdabiyah, but now appears to have regrouped.

Col Gaddafi's troops first ambushed the insurgent convoy outside the leader's hometown of Sirte, then outflanked them through the desert, a manoeuvre requiring the sort of discipline entirely lacking in ragtag rebel force.

On the offensive, government tanks and artillery have unleashed a fierce bombardment on towns and cities, forcing the rebels to flee.

The tactic appears to have worked once again in Ras Lanuf, an oil terminal town 230 miles east of the capital Tripoli.

"Gaddafi hit us with huge rockets. He has entered Ras Lanuf," rebel fighter Faraj Muftah told Reuters after pulling out of Ras Lanuf.

Now if you're this rag-tag rebel bunch of guys who we can't even identify, do Obama's empty words provide any comfort for you? Especially with such clear, decisive statements such as this?

The United States and France have raised the possibility of arming the rebels, though both stressed no decision had yet been taken.

"I'm not ruling it in, I'm not ruling it out," US President Barack Obama told NBC overnight.

Well, gee, thanks for clearing that up, Colonel Obama. If I were a rebel on the run, hearing that you're neither ruling it in or out really provides a clear picture on what my options are. Let's see, should I stay where I am and have huge rockets rain down on me or should I wait around for a guy more interested in watching basketball before I clear the hell out if I want to live.

This is what it's come to. I firmly believe Obama has spent more time working on his NCAA picks and watching games that he has being briefed on developments in Libya. What other explanation is there? We have an obvious vacuum of leadership and the world sees this.

Putting aside Libya for a minute, what do you suppose the folks in Syria and elsewhere are thinking when they see this vacillating jellyfish offering up this nonsense?

Obama appears to be hesitating about which side to take, with signs that he might give the tyrant the benefit of a doubt. That would be a mistake.

Obama adopted such a position during the pro-democracy uprising in Iran in 2009. That made it easier for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to consolidate its coup and impose Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as president for a second term.

Obama at first tried the same approach in Tunisia and Egypt, by supporting the despots -- but finally wound up siding with the people. As a result, America lost on both scores. By abandoning well-established allies, it was accused of being a fickle friend. But the switch to the people's side came too late to enable the United States to claim a share in ending the dictatorial regimes.

Of course such obvious humiliation and fecklessness didn't prevent Obama's pom-pom media for celebrating his masterful foreign policy, but they can't sustain much longer pretending one thing is happening while our eyes tell us a completely different story.

Hey, Who's Up for a Day of Rage in Syria?

Now that it appears Hosni Mubarak will be heading for the exits, it'll be curious to see how much attention the media and the Obama administration pays to this. How quickly will they summon the courage to stand with the rebels in Damascus?

Syrians are organizing campaigns on Facebook and Twitter that call for a “day of rage” in Damascus this week, taking inspiration from Egypt and Tunisia in using social networking sites to rally their followers for sweeping political reforms.

Like Egypt and Tunisia, Syria suffers from corruption, poverty and unemployment. All three nations have seen subsidy cuts on staples like bread and oil. Syria’s authoritarian president has resisted calls for political freedoms and jailed critics of his regime.

Syria's also had no problem crushing any dissent. Let's see how much coverage this gets. Something tells me Bashar Assad won't be heeding international calls to step aside.

The main Syrian protest page on Facebook is urging people to protest in Damascus on Feb. 4 and 5 for “a day of rage.” It says the goal is to “end the state of emergency in Syria and end corruption.” The number of people who have joined Facebook and Twitter pages calling for protests on Friday and Saturday is still relatively small, and some are believed to live outside the country.

President Bashar Assad said in an interview published Monday that his nation is immune from the kind of unrest roiling Tunisia and Egypt.

Gee, I wonder why? They may also have a little trouble getting the word out.

Facebook is banned in Syria, which makes organizing more difficult — even though many Syrians manage to access the social networking site anyway. More than 2,500 people have joined the page calling for protests on Feb. 4-5, with another 850 joining a page in favor of President Assad.

One thing in Assad's favor, at least with the left and the media, is his hatred of Israel. So he'll be portrayed sympathetically.

He is seen by many Arabs, however, as one of the few leaders in the region willing to stand up to arch enemy Israel. And his support for Palestinian and Lebanese militant groups opposed to the Jewish state as well as his opposition to the US invasion of Iraq has won him more support among his people than other Arab rulers.

Hugs for Thugs: Carter Meets With Hamas Leader in Syria

Failed president Jimmy Carter hits the daily double: He meets with the leader of a terrorist organization in a terrorist state. I guess if you asked Carter if there's a terrorist leader he wouldn't meet with, I suspect he might say it's George Bush.

Former President Jimmy Carter met with the leader of Hamas in Damascus on Sunday, the same day the Palestinian terrorist group marked its 21st anniversary and signaled its intention to end an erratically-upheld ceasefire.

It was Carter’s second meeting in the Syrian capital with Khaled Meshaal, whose group has been designated a foreign terrorist organization by the United States. Carter's previous visit to Damascus, last April, drew criticism from the State Department and Israel.

Carter said then, and since, that the search for peace requires dialogue with all sides.

Carter also held talks with Syrian President Bashar Assad, who praised his peace-making efforts, according to the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA).

Of couse the chinless ophthalmologist would praise Carter. Without him, these terror states and organizations wouldn't be nearly as strong as they are.

Amazingly, one group of terrorists refuse to meet with the feckless Carter.

The former president’s visit to Damascus followed one to Lebanon, where he met with a number of political leaders and parties but was rebuffed by the Shi’ite terrorist group, Hezbollah.

Assad's 'Right-Hand Man' Assassinated

I'm sure the Israelis will be blamed, whether they're behind it or not.

Arab media reported on Sunday that a brigadier general thought to be the Syrian regime's liaison with Hezbollah in Lebanon has been assassinated.

The reports came almost six months after the killing in a Damascus car bomb of top Hezbollah military commander Imad Mughnieh, which the Shiite militant group blamed on Israel.

The Saudi-owned pan-Arab daily Al-Hayat on Sunday quoted "informed sources" in London as saying that a senior Syrian officer had been found dead.

"The circumstances of the incident are not clear," the London-based paper said in its report, which said the sources suggested that the slain officer had been "in charge of sensitive files and closely linked to the Syrian top brass."

Al-Bawaba, an Arab news website, named the officer as Mohammed Sleiman and said he was "Syria's liaison officer with Lebanon's Hezbollah movement."

Hard to say at this point, but this may well make Nancy Pelosi's good friend Bashar Assad a tad nervous.

The Lebanese anti-Syrian daily al-Mustaqbal quoted a Syrian news site as saying Sleiman was the head of security at the presidential palace in Damascus and President Bashar al-Assad's "right-hand man."

The initial link has his name misspelled. It's actually Mohammed Suleiman.

A senior Syrian officer, in charge of Syrian President Bashar Assad's liaison with the Hezbollah guerilla group, was shot dead in mysterious circumstances in northern Syria last week, Arab media reports said on Sunday.

Pan-Arab al-Hayat newspaper, quoting "well-informed" sources in London, said the officer had been found dead on Friday night-Saturday morning. It said the officer had been in charge of "sensitive files" and was close to the Syrian leadership.

Lebanon's Future News television station identified the officer as Brigadier General Mohammad Suleiman whom it said was a military aide to Assad. It said his body was found at a hotel in the northern port city of Tartous.

Is Nancy Pelosi actively assisting the enemies of America?

After reading these stories at Atlas and over at Gateway Pundit it sure seems so. Now I don't have any high profile secret sources or contacts with anybody inside the Beltway or even an inside track to the guy who screens the letters to the editors at our local newspaper, so I can't really add anything to the story. All I can do it point it out and direct you to go read the information. I don't ascribe to black helicopter conspiracy theories or Big Brother monitoring my every move, but the circumstantial evidence presented sure doesn't paint a very good picture of Madame Pelosi and her Democratic allies in congress.
When I wrote about Nancy's maneuvering and changing the House rules to prevent the vote on the Colombian Free Trade agreement I said at the time that Chavez would benefit the most from this move and that this was something we would have expected from Chavez but not the United States House of Representatives and apparently the South American press think the same.
So at a time when our congress critters are investigating everything from steroids in baseball to videotaping football games I wonder what the chances would be of anybody even bothering to question the speaker publicly on the floor of the house? Not much since politicians of all stripes when it comes down to it cover each others backsides better then Cling Wrap on a grapefruit.
Go read for yourself and see if you don't at least feel a slight tremble that somebody this high up in our government could be willing to put you and your loved ones on a target list just to score political points

Chinless Ophthalmologist Wins Second Term

The Syrians must really love Bashar Assad, as he came in with 97.62% of the vote.

Syrian President Bashar Assad won a referendum on extending his presidency for second term, garnering 97.62 percent of votes.

At a press conference, Interior Minister Bassam Abdel-Majid said 95.86 percent of eligible voters – 11.19 million – took part in the vote. Only 1.71 percent voted against renewing Assad's presidency for another term.

The 1.71% were immediately executed. OK. Just kidding.

These figures remind me of the totals Fidel Castro and Saddam Hussein used to get before they ceased to exist. Oh, wait, some say Castro is still alive, though I haven't seen the evidence.

This just in: Jimmy Carter has just certified the vote, so it's official.

Nancy Pelosi Was Unavailable for Comment

I doubt the Damascus Diva will complain to her boytoy Bashar Assad.

DAMASCUS, Syria -- A human rights activist was sentenced to 12 years in prison yesterday for meeting with Bush administration officials at the White House during a 2005 visit to Washington.

Kamal Labwani, a Syrian physician and democracy advocate, was convicted of "contacting a foreign country, passing on messages and encouraging attack against Syria," according to local reports, which noted that a maximum sentence could have been a lifetime of hard labor.

The sentence came as President Bashar Assad warned of growing political and military instability in the Middle East in his annual address to the Syrian parliament

This is what happens when a dictatorship gets fawning approval from the appeasers in Congress. They see a green light to crack down on dissenters when aided and abetted by the useful idiot Democrats.

Pelosi Sucks Up to Dictator

Naturally, Nancy Pelosi and the AP call this fascist thug President.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Wednesday that Syrian President Bashar Assad assured her of his willingness to engage in peace talks with Israel.

Pelosi said she and other members of her congressional delegation raised with Assad their concern about militants crossing from Syria into Iraq, as well the Israeli soldiers kidnapped by the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and the Palestinian group Hamas.

The Californian Democrat spoke to reporters shortly after talks with Assad at the end of a two-day visit to Syria, which the White House has criticized as undermining American efforts to isolate the hard-line Arab country.

She said the delegation gave the Syrian leader a message from Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert whose essence was that Israel was ready to hold peace talks with Syria.

She did not say more about the message, but Israel has previously made such talks conditional on Syria's cutting off its support for hardline Palestinian groups and Hezbollah.

"We were very pleased with the assurances we received from the president that he was ready to resume the peace process. He's ready to engage in negotiations for peace with Israel," Pelosi said.

She's even dumber than I thought. Sure, she's really concerned about terrorists crossing into Iraq from Syria. So why the hell is she there groveling before this piece of garbage?

Andrew Cochran asks a logical question:

Why Are American Officials Meeting With Terrorists' Supporters?