Syrian security forces fired on tens of thousands of mourners during funeral processions Saturday, killing at least six people following the deadliest day of the uprising against authoritarian President Bashar Assad.
The funeral processions for some 75 people killed Friday were highly charged gatherings, with people shouting slogans against the regime as they carried coffins through the streets. ...
In Washington, President Barack Obama said the violence was "outrageous" and called on Assad to obey the will of his people by giving them freedom of expression, association, peaceful assembly and the ability to choose their leaders.
I guess everyone but our president and his smart diplomacy team accepts that Assad is not a reformer now.
Another article also raises the "stability" issue of Baathist rule that could keep the protests from reaching a critical mass:
Older Syrians well recall the spate of coups and counter coups in the 1940s and 1950s before the Baath Party took power in 1963, which from then on ruthlessly stamped out any signs of dissent. Few Syrians want a return to that era, particularly having witnessed bloody civil wars in neighboring Lebanon and Iraq.
Let me just say that if Syrians are worried about falling into civil war like their neighbor Lebanon or experiencing high levels of violence like in Iraq, Syria will have the extraordinary advantage of not having the Assad regime around to enable violence in Syria, as Assad carried out in cooperation with Iran in both Lebanon and Iraq.
So they have that going for them.
