NATO to stay out of Syria even if U.N. mandate emerges

[maddezmom]

(Reuters) - NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said the Western alliance had no intention of intervening in Syria even in the event of a U.N. mandate to protect civilians, and urged Middle East countries to find a way to end the spiraling violence.

Rasmussen told Reuters Friday he also rejected the possibility of providing logistical support for proposed "humanitarian corridors" to ferry relief to towns and cities bearing the brunt of President Bashar al-Assad's crackdown on pro-democracy protesters.

"We have no intention whatsoever to intervene in Syria," Rasmussen said in an interview, during a visit to mark the 60th anniversary of Turkey joining the alliance.

While NATO had acted under a United Nations mandate to protect civilians in Libya and had also received active support from several fellow Arab countries, neither condition had been fulfilled in Syria.

more:http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/02/17/us-syria-nato-idUSTRE81G0ZF20120217

[eissa]

1. Good

There is a tendency to link all these countries together as if they're all the same. They're not. Syria is not Egypt or Tunisia. It has a very heterogenous society and is led -- yes, brutally -- by a member of a minority sect. THAT is one of the main reasons why the Arab League is so opposed to the regime. Most Arab nations are ruled by a member of the Sunni branch. That an Alawi (an offshoot of the Shia sect) is ruling a predominantly Sunni country drives them nuts. Mix in there the secular nature of the Syrian government, the number of women (quite a few) in parliament (uncovered at that), a Christian (gasp!) Defense Minister, and it's enough to drive them, and the "democratic" protestors crazy.

While there are certainly young, pro-democracy advocates out in the streets, the fact is that there are different factions out there and the pro-democracy group is only but one, small demographic. Make no mistake -- there is a large, very extremist group chomping at the bit to take over, and our involvement in bringing down the Assad regime will have major blowback.

[pampango]

2. Great post. While is very tough to sit by and watch civilians neighborhoods shelled by tanks, there

is no plausible alternative to putting pressure on all sides there to reach a resolution. Doesn't mean we have to do nothing, but it does mean that military intervention is not a viable alternative in the case of Syria.