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"It's a crime! Where is the world? Why doesn't anyone see?" cried one distraught resident through the phone, the sound of gunfire heard clearly in the background.
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The international community has grown increasingly outraged by the Assad regime's attacks against civilians, but has so far refrained from calling on him to step down.

On Monday, the European Union expanded its sanctions against Syria, imposing asset freezes and travel bans against five more military and government officials.

In Washington, President Obama said the latest attacks on demonstrators were "outrageous," while Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said the latest attacks highlighted "the brutality and viciousness of the Assad regime." Clinton urged the U.N. Security Council to take action and called on members opposed to reconsider.
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The U.N. Security Council was scheduled to have closed-door consultations on Syria late Monday at Germany's request, but U.S. officials said they were not optimistic that the body would act.

Germany, Britain, France and Portugal have tried unsuccessfully since April to get the council to condemn Syrian attacks on unarmed civilians. The U.S supports their efforts, but they have been thwarted by opposition from veto-wielding Russia and China as well as South Africa, Brazil and India, which holds the council presidency this month.

In unusual criticism of the Assad regime, Russia voiced concern Monday over the loss of lives in Hama. The Russian Foreign Ministry urged the Syrian government to stop violence immediately and give up provocations and repression.

Among ordinary Syrians, NPR's Kenyon says, there is some satisfaction in hearing world leaders condemn the Assad regime. "But the diplomatic fundamentals haven't really changed, and Syrians seem to know that."

"Washington and NATO seem to be in no mood for international intervention a la Libya," Kenyon adds. "And serious questions remain about the nature of this opposition. So the path forward remains cloudy." http://www.npr.org/2011/08/01/138885491/scores-killed-as-syrian-forces
-attack-defiant-cities?ft=1&f=1004 it doesn't look, for now anyway, like we're itching to get in.

Doesn't really look like ANYONE wants military action right now, however:

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yrian opposition activists have appealed to the international community to increase pressure on the regime of President Bashar al-Assad as condemnation mounts over escalating bloodshed.

Omar Habal from the central city of Hama, where four more people were reportedly killed by shellfire on Monday, said protestors wanted foreign governments to withdraw their ambassadors from Damascus and expel Syrian diplomats from their capitals in response to a brutal crackdown in which more than 100 people were killed across Syria on Sunday.

"We want action but not military intervention, we don't need that," Habal told the Guardian by telephone. "We need pressure, strong political pressure."
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Syria's opposition is divided, with some groups calling for the overthrow of the Assad regime while others still hope the president will launch genuine reforms.

Foreign governments say that Assad has lost legitimacy but have not explicitly and directly called for his overthrow.

"The international community needs to act quickly to prevent further atrocities in Syria," said Ausama Monajed, a leading exiled dissident. "What are they waiting for? A million Syrians to be killed? It is shameful by any standard to see human beings being shot and killed and not a single condemnation from the U.N. Security Council. What message does that send to brutal dictators?"

The E.U. announced on Monday that it had imposed travel bans and assets freezes on five unnamed Syrian officials, but measures imposed on 30 other senior figures have been shrugged off in Damascus.

Russia said it was "seriously concerned" about the level of casualties but implied government and opposition were equally at fault. "The use of force against civilians and representatives of state structures is unacceptable and must cease," the foreign ministry statement said. Western diplomats said it was unclear whether this meant Moscow was dropping its objections condemning Syria.

China has also been reluctant to back the U.S., Britain and France in demanding punitive gestures, let alone action. Moscow and Beijing are unhappy at the way their support for the U.N. at the start of the Libya crisis was turned into a mandate for a NATO bombing campaign they now see as pursuing regime change.

India, South Africa and Brazil have also opposed a resolution.

William Hague, Britain's Foreign Secretary, said he wanted a resolution to condemn the Syrian violence and admitted there was no possibility of military action of the type seen in Libya. "There is no prospect of a legal, morally sanctioned military intervention," he told the BBC. http://freeinternetpress.com/story/Syrian-Protesters-Ask-For-Global-He
lp-31205.html whether there's a run-up to military action being subtly pushed or not, looks like nothing's happening for now at least.

I think Syria is a whole different story than Libya; there is no cohesion to the rebellion, for one thing, and for another, obviously there are differnces of opinion as to whether they WANT military help. So I guess we shall just have to wait and see.


Hippie Operative Nikovich Nikita Nicovna Talibani,
Contracted Agent of Veritas Oilspillus, code name “Nike”,
signing off