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Is it me or is Obama and his administration much more of a war monger than Bush ever was. Matter of fact, I can't think of another President that got us involved this many different military actions in one term. The Syria action is nothing more than yet another Arab Spring "regime change" operation that the "Activist" aka Muslim Brotherhood and/or al-Queda could not handle so like Libya ... Obama had to send in our forces to do it for them. The end result would be the same as the other Arab Spring operations where the Muslim Brother will take control. The big problem with Syria is they have some very big friends ... namely China, Russia and Iran. With Obama supporting the "activist" and Iran, China and Russia supporting the Syrians we have a stand-off but now Hillary is attempting to publicly bully Russia, China and Iran. I think Obama and Hillary are playing with fire and can actually start WWW3 with this line of actions. WTF?
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton used an international bully pulpit in Paris to urge some 100 international diplomats to “reach out” to Russia and China and “demand they get off the sidelines” of the Syrian crisis.
“I don’t think Russia and China believe they are paying any price at all for standing up for the Assad regime,” Ms. Clinton said in a “Friends of the Syrian People” meeting held this morning in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower.
Yet Moscow and Beijing “should pay a price,” Mrs. Clinton said in strong tones to the French-hosted meeting, “they are holding up progress and blockading it.”
The meeting comes amid the defection of leading Syrian Gen. Manaf Tlass, commander of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's Republican Guard, and whose father headed the Syrian Defense ministry for more than 20 years. French officials said the general was en route to Paris.
Yet in Paris, with Syrian cities under siege, with Russia and China not in attendance, and with the UN observer mission of Kofi Annan suspended for two months, it is unclear whether the Paris group can do much more than offer marginal help and moral support.
MOMENT OF SILENCE
The international delegates stood for a minute of silence called by France's President François Hollande to honor the Syrian victims of what Mr. Hollande called a “tragedy of bewildering proportions.” Hollande said fervently in opening the meeting that “Bashir al Assad must go … a transitional government must be set up,” repeating a call from similar meetings in Tunis and Istanbul this spring.
The Syrian regime’s “fall is inevitable,” Hollande said, and Clinton described “a steady and inexorable path toward ending this regime.”
RELATED: Syria: 5 warring factions
Syrian opposition members here called for humanitarian corridors and a “no-fly zone” to bring in aid and establish means to build a new country and free civilians from what opposition figure Rima Fleyhane called “a Mafia state that only wants to hold onto power.” She said that some 1.5 million Syrian civilians are displaced.
US diplomats are pushing further sanctions ahead of a UN Security Council meeting next week, and want to keep international momentum and pressure on Mr. Assad to implement a peace plan after more than 16,000 people, many women and children, have been killed in 17 months of civil strife.
TOO MANY MEETINGS, TOO FEW RESULTS?
But amid the Paris gathering, some analysts are saying that too many such meetings without result may become counterproductive and dramatize to figures like Russia’s Vladimir Putin a weakness or unwillingness of the world to step into the complexities of Syria.
Arab League Secretary General Nabil al-Arabi told delegates here that after two previous “Friends” meetings it is important to do more than declare an intent to act. “We need to force the Security Council to adopt a resolution to end this tragedy, a moral tragedy forced upon the Syrian people,” he said.
“No amount of beautiful speeches can bring an end to this,” said Qatar prime minister Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber al-Thani, describing what he called a “scorched earth policy” by Damascus.
A new Human Rights Watch report on Syria this week detailed widespread and “systematic” acts of torture and crimes by the Syrian regime, and Hollande in opening the meeting made “no impunity for crimes” by actors of the Syrian state the first of five commitments for the gathering. An emphasis on international justice and crimes against humanity would put Assad and Syria in the sights of the International Criminal Court and further solidify Syria as a pariah nation, experts say.
Hollande pushed for sanctions, humanitarian help, and communications equipment for the opposition, something requested for months by the opposition.
“These are good intentions, but I doubt this meeting can accomplish much,” says Thomas Pierret at the University of Edinburgh. “Russia is opposing any kind of diplomatic solution.” However, the defection of Syrian General Tlass is significant, Mr. Pierret said. Tlass “is the first really high ranking military officer to defect … this might send some shock waves [in the region] and is good news for the opposition.”
Delegates listened as Syrian opposition described upward of 1.5 to 2 million displaced, tens of thousands detained, and a need for help among neighborhood networks that have formed in the past year.
Some 200,000 of 500,000 people in the city of Duma came out to protest and today much of its population has left, said Riyad Seif, an opposition member speaking at the meeting in Paris’ 15th district. “Please do help us,” Mr. Seif said. “There are 2 million displaced. They need medication, food, and a roof over their head. These people must be given help, and their suffering must be reduced. The aid is not reaching them.”
"One way or the other, we are determined to deny Iraq the capacity to develop weapons of mass destruction and the missiles to deliver them. That is our bottom line." --President Bill Clinton, Feb. 4, 1998
"If Saddam rejects peace and we have to use force, our purpose is clear. We want to seriously diminish the threat posed by Iraq's weapons of mass destruction program." --President Bill Clinton, Feb. 17, 1998
"Iraq is a long way from [here], but what happens there matters a great deal here. For the risks that the leaders of a rogue state will use nuclear, chemical or biological weapons against us or our allies is the greatest security threat we face." --Madeline Albright, Feb 18, 1998
"He will use those weapons of mass destruction again, as he has ten times since 1983." --Sandy Berger, Clinton National Security Adviser, Feb, 18, 1998
"[W]e urge you, after consulting with Congress, and consistent with the U.S. Constitution and laws, to take necessary actions (including, if appropriate, air and missile strikes on suspect Iraqi sites) to respond effectively to the threat posed by Iraq's refusal to end its weapons of mass destruction programs."
Letter to President Clinton, signed by: -- Democratic Senators Carl Levin, Tom Daschle, John Kerry, and others, Oct. 9, 1998
"Saddam Hussein has been engaged in the development of weapons of mass destruction technology which is a threat to countries in the region and he has made a mockery of the weapons inspection process." -Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D, CA), Dec. 16, 1998
"Hussein has ... chosen to spend his money on building weapons of mass destruction and palaces for his cronies." -- Madeline Albright, Clinton Secretary of State, Nov. 10, 1999
"There is no doubt that ... Saddam Hussein has reinvigorated his weapons programs. Reports indicate that biological, chemical and nuclear programs continue apace and may be back to pre-Gulf War status. In addition, Saddam continues to redefine delivery systems and is doubtless using the cover of a licit missile program to develop longer-range missiles that will threaten the United States and our allies."
Letter to President Bush, Signed by: -- Sen. Bob Graham (D, FL), and others, Dec 5, 2001
"We begin with the common belief that Saddam Hussein is a tyrant and a threat to the peace and stability of the region. He has ignored the mandate of the United Nations and is building weapons of mass destruction and th! e means of delivering them." -- Sen. Carl Levin (D, MI), Sept. 19, 2002
"We know that he has stored secret supplies of biological and chemical weapons throughout his country." -- Al Gore, Sept. 23, 2002
Is it me or is Obama and his administration much more of a war monger than Bush ever was. Matter of fact, I can't think of another President that got us involved this many different military actions in one term. The Syria action is nothing more than yet another Arab Spring "regime change" operation that the "Activist" aka Muslim Brotherhood and/or al-Queda could not handle so like Libya ... Obama had to send in our forces to do it for them. The end result would be the same as the other Arab Spring operations where the Muslim Brother will take control. The big problem with Syria is they have some very big friends ... namely China, Russia and Iran. With Obama supporting the "activist" and Iran, China and Russia supporting the Syrians we have a stand-off but now Hillary is attempting to publicly bully Russia, China and Iran. I think Obama and Hillary are playing with fire and can actually start WWW3 with this line of actions. WTF?
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton used an international bully pulpit in Paris to urge some 100 international diplomats to “reach out” to Russia and China and “demand they get off the sidelines” of the Syrian crisis.
“I don’t think Russia and China believe they are paying any price at all for standing up for the Assad regime,” Ms. Clinton said in a “Friends of the Syrian People” meeting held this morning in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower.
Yet Moscow and Beijing “should pay a price,” Mrs. Clinton said in strong tones to the French-hosted meeting, “they are holding up progress and blockading it.”
The meeting comes amid the defection of leading Syrian Gen. Manaf Tlass, commander of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's Republican Guard, and whose father headed the Syrian Defense ministry for more than 20 years. French officials said the general was en route to Paris.
Yet in Paris, with Syrian cities under siege, with Russia and China not in attendance, and with the UN observer mission of Kofi Annan suspended for two months, it is unclear whether the Paris group can do much more than offer marginal help and moral support.
MOMENT OF SILENCE
The international delegates stood for a minute of silence called by France's President François Hollande to honor the Syrian victims of what Mr. Hollande called a “tragedy of bewildering proportions.” Hollande said fervently in opening the meeting that “Bashir al Assad must go … a transitional government must be set up,” repeating a call from similar meetings in Tunis and Istanbul this spring.
The Syrian regime’s “fall is inevitable,” Hollande said, and Clinton described “a steady and inexorable path toward ending this regime.”
RELATED: Syria: 5 warring factions
Syrian opposition members here called for humanitarian corridors and a “no-fly zone” to bring in aid and establish means to build a new country and free civilians from what opposition figure Rima Fleyhane called “a Mafia state that only wants to hold onto power.” She said that some 1.5 million Syrian civilians are displaced.
US diplomats are pushing further sanctions ahead of a UN Security Council meeting next week, and want to keep international momentum and pressure on Mr. Assad to implement a peace plan after more than 16,000 people, many women and children, have been killed in 17 months of civil strife.
TOO MANY MEETINGS, TOO FEW RESULTS?
But amid the Paris gathering, some analysts are saying that too many such meetings without result may become counterproductive and dramatize to figures like Russia’s Vladimir Putin a weakness or unwillingness of the world to step into the complexities of Syria.
Arab League Secretary General Nabil al-Arabi told delegates here that after two previous “Friends” meetings it is important to do more than declare an intent to act. “We need to force the Security Council to adopt a resolution to end this tragedy, a moral tragedy forced upon the Syrian people,” he said.
“No amount of beautiful speeches can bring an end to this,” said Qatar prime minister Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber al-Thani, describing what he called a “scorched earth policy” by Damascus.
A new Human Rights Watch report on Syria this week detailed widespread and “systematic” acts of torture and crimes by the Syrian regime, and Hollande in opening the meeting made “no impunity for crimes” by actors of the Syrian state the first of five commitments for the gathering. An emphasis on international justice and crimes against humanity would put Assad and Syria in the sights of the International Criminal Court and further solidify Syria as a pariah nation, experts say.
Hollande pushed for sanctions, humanitarian help, and communications equipment for the opposition, something requested for months by the opposition.
“These are good intentions, but I doubt this meeting can accomplish much,” says Thomas Pierret at the University of Edinburgh. “Russia is opposing any kind of diplomatic solution.” However, the defection of Syrian General Tlass is significant, Mr. Pierret said. Tlass “is the first really high ranking military officer to defect … this might send some shock waves [in the region] and is good news for the opposition.”
Delegates listened as Syrian opposition described upward of 1.5 to 2 million displaced, tens of thousands detained, and a need for help among neighborhood networks that have formed in the past year.
Some 200,000 of 500,000 people in the city of Duma came out to protest and today much of its population has left, said Riyad Seif, an opposition member speaking at the meeting in Paris’ 15th district. “Please do help us,” Mr. Seif said. “There are 2 million displaced. They need medication, food, and a roof over their head. These people must be given help, and their suffering must be reduced. The aid is not reaching them.”
Bill needs to sit down and have a talk with the "little lady".
I, despite being a conservative, actually liked Clinton (with the exception of NAFTA and China most favored nation trade status).
You see the guy interviewed today, and he makes sense and is practical, despite being a democrat. I actually voted for him in his second term. Obama, on the other hand, is so irrational and incompetent that DEMOCRATS, not just conservatives, should demand his ouster and get someone competent in the White House. Will Romney be competent? I don't know, but if he is not, I want him out in four years. But I do know that Obama is not competent and putting a failed fool in the White House simply for partisan political goals is INSANE. Anyone who votes for Obama should be ashamed of themselves, as they have left rationality and the put the nation in jeopardy for political reasons.
If you are an Obama supporter, ask yourself if you have ever voted ANYTHING but democratic? If not, you are just a mindless partisan "robot", pulling the "D" lever.
This is why our representatives are so terrible. They KNOW that most voters vote by party and do not give a damn about performance, only party loyalty. When performance is no longer an issue, we get crappy representatives.
The left should THANK the TEA PARTY in being a movement (although one that all libs would disagree with) that shows that INDIVIDUALS can demand some changes in their representatives, rather than just accepting the same old crap. Wake up and DEMAND CHANGE, regardless of political affiliation. Make the representatives RESPONSIBLE again.
There actually is no "anti-war" party within mainstream American politics. Both major parties have congealed around a sort of foreign policy neoconservatism that runs cool or hot depending on the circumstances. This unfortunately includes much of the "Tea Party," many of whose self-described candidates are nothing less than outright war hawks on Iran and Syria.
The anti-war faction of American politics is basically a loose coalition of left-leaning foreign policy skeptics and more traditional right-leaning "paleoconservatives" such as Pat Buchanan, along with some libertarians. Their combined influence in the actual conduct of American foreign policy is very limited.
I really cannot recall a time when we've seen so much provocative rhetoric coming from a Secretary of State, and particularly directed toward war, and inflammatory statements directed at Russia.
Not only is this group of psychopaths destroying the country internally, but seem hell bent on promoting a broader global conflict between the US, Russia and China.
We need to stop this ridiculous support of political parties in this country, and understand that war is in no one's best interests, no matter who is behind it ... and certainly not war with Russia and China.
Clinton needs to shut her pie hole ... and the American people need to get a clue and remove these war mongers and Wall Street Stooges before it's too late.
And then we need to make it clear to the next globalist puppet that we're on to their games and we aren't going to tolerate these shenanigans any longer.
Outstanding stuff from the Madam Secretary!! She's calling them out knowing that they support the losing side. This is for ordinary Muslim ears in that part of the world. She is loudly stating that the US is on their side while Russia and China are on the side of their oppressors. Excellent move, they may already be responding.
There actually is no "anti-war" party within mainstream American politics. Both major parties have congealed around a sort of foreign policy neoconservatism that runs cool or hot depending on the circumstances. This unfortunately includes much of the "Tea Party," many of whose self-described candidates are nothing less than outright war hawks on Iran and Syria.
The anti-war faction of American politics is basically a loose coalition of left-leaning foreign policy skeptics and more traditional right-leaning "paleoconservatives" such as Pat Buchanan, along with some libertarians. Their combined influence in the actual conduct of American foreign policy is very limited.
American foreign policy since the early seventies has been to ensure oil is traded in US dollars. That is wht is going on here. Hillary has been let loose with her little 15K merc army handed to her in Iraq toppling regimes as she pleases. Iran is the main target and it appears to road to Tehran goes through Damascus. I'll bet after Syrai falls to the "rebels" supported by NATO air power the russians and chinese back down a bit. Of course Obama did get caught saying he would be able to help Vlad after the election. Who knows maybe Obama if he wins will give the green light to Iran to trade in non US currencies, Hillary has a plane crash and the US is doomed. It is I believe the goal of the Obama regime to destroy the US from within. He is doing a great job at that. Gotta let his banker buddies cut and run first which they are doing in droves.
Outstanding stuff from the Madam Secretary!! She's calling them out knowing that they support the losing side. This is for ordinary Muslim ears in that part of the world. She is loudly stating that the US is on their side while Russia and China are on the side of their oppressors. Excellent move, they may already be responding.
Tough, old biddy!!
Obama and his administration are on the side of the Muslim Brotherhood not the rest of the US. Once Obama is out of office and in jail where he belongs we will re-connect with our allies.
Yet Moscow and Beijing “should pay a price,” Mrs. Clinton said in strong tones
That's a declaration of casus belli (justification for war). Completely insane, if you ask me.
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