Clinton Says U.S. Won't Intervene in Syria, Sees Progress in Libya Fight

[WestVirginiaRebel]

Bloomberg:

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the U.S. won’t enter into the internal conflict in Syria the way it has in Libya, where the international effort to protect civilians from Muammar Qaddafi is progressing.

“No,” Clinton said when asked on the CBS program “Face the Nation” if the U.S. would intervene in Syria’s unrest. Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad’s security forces clashed with protesters in several cities over the weekend after his promises of freedoms and pay increases failed to prevent dissent from spreading across the country.

Clinton said the elements that led to intervention in Libya -- international condemnation, an Arab League call for action, a United Nations Security Council resolution -- are “not going to happen” with Syria, in part because members of the U.S. Congress from both parties say they believe Assad is “a reformer.”

“What’s been happening there the last few weeks is deeply concerning, but there’s a difference between calling out aircraft and indiscriminately strafing and bombing your own cities,” Clinton said, referring to Qaddafi’s attacks on the Libyan people, “than police actions which, frankly, have exceeded the use of force that any of us would want to see.”

Unique Situations
“Each of these situations is unique,” Clinton said, referring to the North African and Middle Eastern countries dealing with change and unrest, a list that now includes Yemen, Jordan, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Syria and Bahrain.

Clinton was interviewed with Defense Secretary Robert Gates on a round of Sunday television talk shows, taped March 26, as Libyan rebels moved into the central city of Ajdabiya, recaptured Brega in the east and advanced toward the strategic oil port of Ras Lanuf as U.S. and allied warplanes bombarded Qaddafi’s tanks, artillery and soldiers along the coastline.

Yesterday, rebel forces recaptured Ras Lanuf and advanced toward Qaddafi’s hometown of Sirte. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, which agreed March 24 to take responsibility for the no-fly zone, yesterday assumed command of all aspects of the military operation enforcing the UN mandate to ensure the safety of Libyan civilians, including attacks on Qaddafi’s forces on the ground.

Support from Defectors
Clinton said defectors from the Libyan military and government are offering more support to the rebels, who, she said, are “not a well-organized fighting force.”

“But they are getting more support from defectors, from the former Libyan government military,” Clinton said on CBS. She said that “a lot” of diplomats and military leaders in Libya “are flipping, changing sides, defecting because they see the handwriting on the wall.”
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I guess some dictatorships are even less of a threat than others...