Syrian forces opened fire to disperse hundreds of protesters in Deraa calling for an end to emergency laws on Monday, but demonstrators regrouped despite a heavy troop deployment, a witness said.
At least 61 people have been killed in 10 days of anti-government protests in the southern city, posing the most serious challenge to President Bashar al-Assad's rule.
And the army is involved now, although it doesn't seem to be shooting:
Assad, 45, sent in troops to the key port city of Latakia on Saturday, signaling the government's growing alarm about the ability of security forces to keep order there.
The protesters don't seem to be interested in dispersing despite the heavy hand of the authorities.
Will the troops open fire if ordered? Do the Syrian authorities need to order the troops to shoot? Or can the other security forces and imported bully boys do the job? Will the people flinch and go home?
The Syrians have the track record to show they will slaughter people to stay in control. And their Iranian masters rely on body counts to retain control. That's their advice to Damascus:
Despite being one of the most brutal police states in the world, Syria is suffering from an increasing number of anti-government demonstrations. So far, the death toll (among protestors) is only in the hundreds. In the past, Syrian dictators have killed over 10,000 of their subjects, in the name of restoring order. Pro-Iranian rulers in Lebanon and Gaza are also suffering from growing protests. Iran seems to be telling everyone to follow the Iranian example. Just start killing opponents, and keep killing until the opposition goes silent. The dead don't protest. Iran is doing more than give advice, and has sent security experts to Syria and ordered Hezbollah gunmen into Syria to help with terrorizing freedom lovers.
We should be ramping up information broadcasts to Syria to show the extent of the protests, the government violence, and the Iranian helpers. We should not remain silent.
I'm not saying we should use our military to help. I'm not one of the people saying why Libya and not Syria (or Iran)? We should do what we can when and where we can. Libya had the advantage of being an easier target. And we have European allies that have more reasons than we did to intervene (stopping refugees from flooding southern Europe and starting oil exports to Europe). And it certainly isn't morally wrong to stop Khaddafi. Heck, we even have old scores to settle. And his "flip" during the Bush administration has been unravelling anyway, it seems.
If I may digress more (and it is my blog, so I may), I don't even mind we are more in the background on Libya. Indeed, I thought we could have been even more in the background militarily given the proximity of Libya to Europe and Europe's unused military power sitting in their barracks. Let them step up, I say, with our logistics help since we are allies.
Still, having put the prestige of America on the line by saying Khaddafi must go, President Obama has an obligation to help the rebels win. Khaddafi's survival would now be a defeat for America. That is one reason that all the complaints that we are siding with rebels who may or may not be pretty odious don't move me. Even if we replace one thug with another group of thugs, we at least nailed a thug who has been a thorn in the side of America for decades who has killed lots of our people. We supported Stalin's Russia to defeat Hitler's Germany, remember. Foreign policy isn't always neat and clean. Plus, some of the Libyan rebels are bound to be decent people. Again, this is a reason for America and the West to stay involved after the revolts are over and the costs of the revolts are tallied.
It just never hurts to be visibly on the side of the people against their oppressors, even if the people lose in the short run. We may have reasons not to do more than quietly persuade friendly autocrats to reform, but the point remains valid. Let the Syrian people know that we are on their side. Let the regime know that outreach is dead if they massacre their people. It is dead as a practical matter, but let the Damascus crew know that even our crew can't pretend it is a productive track if the Syrians start mowing down protesters.
