Utenriksminister Hillary Clinton sier opprørsstyrkene i Syria vil få våpen på en eller annen måte, og Assad-regimet vil falle hvis den fortsetter å bruke slike brutale metoder. Det var Clinton overbevist om.
Hun henvendte seg direkte til Kina og Russland som beskytter Syria i FN.
“The strategy followed by the Syrians and their allies is one that can’t stand the test of legitimacy or even brutality for any length of time,” Clinton told reporters in London.
“There will be increasingly capable opposition forces. They will from somewhere, somehow, find the means to defend themselves as well as begin offensive measures,” she added.
“It is clear to me there will be a breaking point. I wish it would be sooner, so that more lives would be saved, than later, but I have absolutely no doubt there will be such a breaking point.”
Clinton, however, suggested Russia and China may not be able to sustain their opposition for ever.
“The pressure will build on countries like Russia and China because world opinion is not going to stand idly by. Arab opinion is not going to be satisfied watching two nations, one for commercial reasons one for commercial and ideological reasons, bolstering a regime that is defying every rule of modern international norms,” she added.
Bashar står i ferd med å gjøre det samme mot Homs som faren, Hafez, gjorde mot Hama i 1982: bruke hæren til å jevne en by med jorden. Men det er ikke mulig å slippe unna med i våre dager, mener Clinton.
Hun mener verden er annerledes pga internett og sosiale medier. Sannheten kommer ut, ofte i real time.
“When Assad’s father conducted his horrific attacks back in the early ‘80s, there was no Internet, there was no Twitter, there were no social communication sites. There was no satellite television. There were no on-the-ground witnesses,” Clinton said.
“It’s much harder, and thankfully so, to have that level of brutality - shelling with artillery your own people - not be known by everyone, most particularly your own people, not after the fact but in real time,” she added.
Clinton did not provide details about what the United States and its Arab and European allies might do if Assad refused to let humanitarian aid in, though she spoke of tightening existing sanctions and possibly considering new ones.
Gruppen Friends of Syria møtes i Tunisia fredag. Det er 70 land som vil stille krav til Syria om humanitære korridorer og vinduer: korte våpenhviler så humanitær assistanse kan slippe inn.
Hva gjør gruppen hvis de ikke blir hørt? Nye sanksjoner, sa Clinton.
For første gang står Vesten og Den arabiske liga sammen på et humanitært grunnlag.
