Syrian border police keep watch.
Posted on 10/31/2005 10:49:56 AM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach
The UN Security Council approved a resolution Monday demanding Syria co-operate with a UN investigation into the assassination of Lebanon's former prime minister, threatening further action against Damascus if it continues to stonewall.
|
|
|
|
Syrian border police keep watch.
|
|
The resolution was unanimously approved by the 15-member council after the threat of economic sanctions was dropped from a previous resolution, co-sponsored by the U.S., France and Britain.
Russia and China had objected to the initial text which called for the threat of economic sanctions unless Syria co-operated with an investigation into the bombing that killed Rafik Hariri and 20 others.
The two countries have veto powers and were against mentioning sanctions while the investigation into Hariri continues.
A new text says that if Syria doesn't co-operate "the council, if necessary, could consider further action."
The co-sponsors also agreed to drop an appeal to Syria to renounce all support for "all forms of terrorist action and all assistance to terrorist groups."
The resolution was adopted under Chapter VII of the UN Charter, which is militarily enforceable.
A UN report into the killing of Hariri implicated top Syrian and Lebanese security officials in the Feb. 14 bombing.
The report also accused Syria of not co-operating fully with the probe.
Oh no! Not the UN threat! sounds serious... Syria must be shaking in their dresses. Oil anyone?
"UN demands co-operation from Syria in Hariri probe"
LOL!!!
Amid U.N. Inquiry Into Killing, Leading Syrian Leaves Country
*****************************************
Excerpt:
DAMASCUS, Syria, Oct. 29 - During a United Nations investigation into the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri that threatens the power of President Bashar al-Assad, a first cousin who is one of the most powerful businessmen in Syria has left the country.
While it remains unclear why the president's cousin, Rami Makhluf, left - his allies say he is in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, working on the expansion of his business empire - many people with close connections to the ruling Baath Party say his departure underscores the investigation's threat to the Assad family's grip on power.
Already, the United Nations has implicated important Syrians in the killing of Mr. Hariri in February, and the Syrian government has since been searching for a formula to satisfy its international critics without undermining its authority at home.
October 30, 2005
Syrian Power Brokers Start To Disperse
****************************************************
As more pressure gets applied to the Bashar Assad regime to answer for the assassination of Rafik Hariri, it looks like the impulse to run has become irresistable for some members of the autocracy. The New York Times reports that Assad's wealthy and powerful cousin, Rami Makhluf, has fled Syria for the UAE as the country becomes more dangerous for those who prop up the erstwhile opthalmologist on his creaky throne:
*******************************************
snip
*******************************************************
The UN has identified members of Assad's family as suspects in the assassination conspiracy, notably his brother Maher and brother-in-law Asef Shakwat, the commander of the military intelligence apparatus that struck fear into Lebanese for a generation. Makhluf, however, wasn't one of the suspects. The Makhlufs come from Assad's mother's family and comprise some of the richest supporters of the regime. Their wealth helps prop Assad the Younger on his perch as the nominal head of the regime.
If the monied class has truly begun to flee Syria, as the Times suggests, it's not because they conspired to assassinate Hariri and want to get out. Those who conspired against Hariri would find it much safer within Syria than outside of it. Until the regime collapses, they will never have to face a trial for his murder, unless Assad coughs them up as part of an arrangement to keep himself in power -- and even then, those big enough to get Assad off the hook at first would inevitably wind up implicating him in the end.
The flight of Makhluf means something entirely different, if it truly is flight. Monied interests will go to the places of greatest security in times of trouble. For decades, the Makhlufs have seen the Assads as that kind of guarantee. If Rami senses that his cousin can no longer provide that kind of assurance, fleeing to the UAE on the notion that he needs to take care of his finances abroad signals that even the closest bonds of support for the Assaf regime have weakened, perhaps fatally for Bashar.
The Times reports also that Bashar may have ordered Rami to leave in order to clean up the culture of corruption and recapture the confidence of the Syrian people. That rumor may sound good in Western circles, but the Syrians don't vote and don't have any freedom to express themselves in Assad's Ba'athist state. The Assads did not come to power or maintain it through populist means, nor are they beloved in any sense of the term. If the Syrians asserted themselves in a populist movement, it wouldn't be to keep Bashar on the throne, and Bashar knows it.
The only analysis of Rami's apparent flight is that the Assad regime has come to an end, for all practical purposes. If the Security Council puts a squeeze on Syria, it will utterly collapse. The Americans and the French should work quickly to ensure that the UN takes some sort of decisive action and that supporters of democratization stand ready to apply the coup de grace that will end the tyranny of the Assads for good -- and replace it with a democratic republic that will further isolate Iran in Southwest Asia.
This threat brings to mind a scene in Team America...right before Hans Brix... er Blix...is fed to some sharks.
The United Nations Security Council meets to vote unanimously in favor of a resolution demanding Syria cooperate with a U.N. probe into the death of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri in New York October 31, 2005. REUTERS/Keith Bedford
United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice votes yes at a meeting of the United Nations Security Council on a resolution that would threaten sanctions if Damascus doesn't cooperate with the U.N. investigation into the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri. The UN Security Council unanimously adopted a watered-down resolution demanding full Syrian cooperation with the UN probe into the murder of Lebanon's ex-premier.(AFP/Timothy A. Clary)
Wonder why Condi bothered to show up for a mere watered down resolution?
Just doing what Colin Powell did before her. :-)
Bolton has take out his king sized vise grips and with the UN's okay, he has attached them to certain vital parts of ASSad.
Now we will see the racheting down effect. Will ASSad do a Kadafy to avoid the pain?
Meanwhile we are turning more of the Military action inside Iraq over to the Iraqi Military:
UN piles pressure on Syria over Hariri
***************************************
UN Security Council foreign ministers on Monday unanimously agreed to measures that threaten the heart of the Syrian regime, demanding it detain any individuals suspected of plotting the February murder of former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri.
.......
That's good!
**************************************
Syrians on Monday reacted with anxiety to the UN resolution. “I don’t think it matters if it mentioned sanctions or not,” said political analyst Marwan Kabalan from Damascus University. “We are the focus of the Security Council and that is what counts.”
Wow. The UN. Syria is quaking in its boots.
OK....I give....I thought this was good stuff!
That's #1, only 16 or 17 more till the bombs start falling.
what a show of strength! this reminds me of that historic moment when they reprimanded Saddam!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.