Gulf Arabs quit Syria monitoring mission

[maddezmom]

Tue Jan 24, 2012 11:17am GMT

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's Gulf allies joined Riyadh on Tuesday in pulling out of an Arab League monitoring team to Syria, risking the collapse of a mission whose presence has not halted more than 10 months of violence.

Envoys to the Cairo-based League will meet later in the day to discuss whether to call off the whole mission, Sudan's ambassador to the 22-member body said.

"The meeting of representatives today will discuss the fate of the monitoring mission, whether it continues or withdraws," the envoy, Kamal Hassan Ali, told Reuters.

more: http://af.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idAFL6E8C52E220120124

[leveymg]

1. De facto escalation. Effort to push UN into Syria.

Right on schedule for mid-March intervention.

March 20, 2003.

Glorious.

[tabatha]

2. Comparing apples to oranges.

Maybe you should go visit Syria for a month, and get shot at. Is Russia in on it too?

"Russia Says Syria’s Assad Hasn’t Responded to Peace Efforts"

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad hasn’t responded to efforts to promote a peaceful solution to 10-month-old unrest, said a Kremlin envoy, Mikhail Margelov.

Russia is losing confidence in the possibility of a negotiated outcome in Syria, “because we don’t see any willingness, either from the authorities or the protesters, to reach an agreement,” Margelov said today in a phone interview.

Russia in October blocked a bid by the European Union and U.S. for the United Nations Security Council to condemn the crackdown in Syria, arguing that Assad was seeking to implement political changes.

Margelov, a special envoy who traveled to Libya last year in a bid to negotiate Muammar Qaddafi’s departure and has offered to mediate between the Syrian government and opposition, said Russia hasn’t received a “clear, positive response” from Assad.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-24/russia-says-syria-s-assad-hasn-t-responded-to-peace-efforts.html

[leveymg]

3. The Russians also signaled their intention to not oppose the US-UK invasion of Iraq and the Libya

regime change operation last year. Maybe tangerine-navel orange, but not apples to oranges.

[tabatha]

5. The Russians do not want a war with Syria.

Neither does NATO and neither does the US. It is way too complex.

Also, in Iraq, there was not an ongoing revolution where people were being massacred at the rate of about 20 a day for 10 months. R2P had no application at all in Iraq.

I would say it is apples to chewing gum, where large bubbles of hot air are being blown.

[tabatha]

6. Pop goes the chewing gum.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002213059

[leveymg]

7. Hope Mr. ElBardei has more luck in Syria than had in holding off the dogs of war in Iraq

Your alternative metaphor is a little strained. Pop

[tabatha]

8. LOL

Iraq and Syria are not the same. Try listing the differences.

[leveymg]

9. The burden is on opposing counsel to do that in rebuttal, counselor

Ball's in your court. I don't have all afternoon to play, however.

[tabatha]

10. Oh, I am posting between bouts of coding.

I may do it tonight.

[Snake Alchemist]

4. I was just thinking we needed a new war. nt