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Shameful U.S. Inaction on Syria's Massacres
(Washington Post) Editorial - Growing numbers of Syrians have been gathering in cities and towns across the country to demand political freedom - and the security forces of dictator Bashar al-Assad have been responding by opening fire on them. Massacres on this scale usually prompt a strong response from Western democracies, as they should. The Assad regime is one of the most implacable U.S. adversaries in the Middle East. It is Iran's closest ally; it supplies Iranian weapons to Hizbullah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza for use against Israel. Since 2003 it has helped thousands of jihadists from across the Arab world travel to Iraq to attack American soldiers. It sought to build a secret nuclear reactor with the help of North Korea and destabilized the pro-Western government of neighboring Lebanon by sponsoring a series of assassinations. Yet the Obama administration has effectively sided with the regime against the protesters. Even if his massacres allow him to survive in power, Mr. Assad will hardly be a credible partner for Israel. As a moral matter, the stance of the United States is shameful. To stand by passively while hundreds of people seeking freedom are gunned down by their government makes a mockery of the U.S. commitment to human rights.