Natalie Gonnella
In an editorial yesterday, the Washington Post described the Obama administration's continued inaction on Syria as nothing short of shameful, commenting that:
Massacres on this scale usually prompt a strong response from Western democracies, as they should....The administration has sat on its hands despite the fact that the Assad regime is one of the most implacable U.S. adversaries in the Middle East. It is Iran’s closest ally; it supplies Iranian weapons to Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in the Gaza Strip for use against Israel. Since 2003 it has helped thousands of jihadists from across the Arab world travel to Iraq to attack American soldiers. It sought to build a secret nuclear reactor with the help of North Korea and destabilized the pro-Western government of neighboring Lebanon by sponsoring a series of assassinations.
With many Republicans sharing a similar view, here's a look at what several prominent conservatives have said this week about President Obama's feeble response to the abuses committed by Bashar al-Assad's regime:
Senator John Kyl earlier this week issued a statement condemning President Obama's silence, commenting that:
More and more, the U.S. looks irrelevant to a growing movement of millions across North Africa and the Middle East. Long term, the damage to U.S. influence will be incalculable. More importantly, peoples’ future and freedom are at stake.
The President should personally stand up and publicly condemn the attacks by the Assad regime on the Syrian people. The President must also make clear to the rulers of Iran that their interference in Syria’s democratic uprising will be opposed by the United States. The United States must not condone by its silence Tehran’s repression of the Syrian people any more than its repression of the Iranian people.
Lastly, President Obama, who felt it was important to rejoin the United Nations Human Rights Council, should now use that body to pass a resolution calling to an end to Assad’s violence against the Syrian people.
In an interview on Thursday, former Governor Mitt Romney said of the administration's response:
[I]t is hard to understand exactly how it is that we’re as actively engaged militarily and politically and diplomatically in Libya as we are, when at the same time, saying very little, if anything, about Syria. And of course, the President should speak out against Assad, should…in the same way he should have spoken out in favor of the voices of dissent in Iran when they took to the streets. He is remarkably silent when our most adamant foes are under attack by voices of freedom and dissent and democracy. But he gets very, very active in other settings.
Former Governor Tim Pawlenty, in response to this week's violence, said in a statement via his website on Friday:
[The] brutal crackdown by the Syrian regime on peaceful demonstrators is unacceptable. With 75 Syrians killed by their government today and 200 more in recent weeks, the United States must send a clear and strong signal to the people of Syria that we support their drive towards freedom and getting rid of the Assad regime. President Obama should immediately recall the ambassador that he sent to Syria and move to invoke additional economic sanctions. Moreover, he should instruct the US Ambassador to the UN to call a special meeting of the Security Council to condemn the Syrian regime's murderous conduct. As the world pauses to celebrate this holy weekend, our thoughts and prayers are with today's victims and all those around the world who are denied their rights to freedom of religion, free speech, and democracy.
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