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THE WEIRS TIMES & THE COCHECO TIMES, Thursday, February 16, 2012


7


RUSSIA SAYS “NYET” TO RESOLVING SYRIA’S CONFLICT


by John J. Metzler Syndicated Columnist


UNITED NA- TIONS—Sec- retary of State Hillary Clinton may have lam- basted Rus- sia’s veto of a Security Coun- cil resolution on Syria, call- ing it a “trav- esty,” but did


she really think for a moment that Moscow was going to ditch an old political ally? Did Hillary more- over really believe that Beijing was going to throw a business partner under the proverbial bus at the UN? Or was the U.S. convinced that a watered down draft resolu- tion meeting Moscow’s demands “half way” had any chance in the wind tunnel of the Security Council? Using a rare double veto in the


Security Council, Russia and China sent an emphatic and predictable message to the Arab world’s peace plan for Syria: NYET! Although the vote clearly seems to put Moscow and Beijing at odds with the winds of change sweeping the Middle East, it equally shows that unapologetic realpolitik rules in Russia and in People’s China. Not to forget, back in October


a Western backed resolution on human rights in Syria was force- fully shot down in the Council by another Russian/Chinese double veto.


American UN Ambassador Su-


san Rice was “disgusted” by the vote. French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe described the Rus- sian/Chinese veto as a “moral stain” on the UN. The UN Security Council was


pressing to implement an Arab League peace plan which would defuse the violence and set the fragile framework for a politi- cal solution in Syria’s year long domestic revolt. Importantly the draft resolution was backed by such heavy hitters as Saudi Ara- bia, Jordan, Morocco and Qatar. It equally saw strong support from Britain, the USA, and France, the former colonial power and impres- sively won 13 of 15 Council votes, including India. Significantly the West stands


alongside most of the Arab World in trying to resolve the bloody cri- sis in Syria. This presents a posi-


tive political image. Portugal’s Foreign Minister Pau-


lo Portas, addressing the Council earlier in the week memorably stated: “What is happening in Syria is of such seriousness; the inaction of the international com- munity is so shocking; an Arab solution is so urgent; and a deci- sion of the United Nations is so essential.” Though the Russians clearly sig-


naled earlier that they would use their veto, the U.S. and France assumed that a watering down the draft resolution to appease Russia would change their minds, thus allowing Moscow to “abstain” in the vote. There would be no such back down since Moscow and Beijing claim that the reso- lution supports “regime change” and could open the back door to military intervention as in Libya last year. Moscow’s intransigence re-


minded me of the late great Amer- ican UN Ambassador Daniel Patrick Moynihan’s comments on a UN membership standoff in 1975; “The balance of force was with the Soviets and they would give nothing.” Given the ongoing violence in Syria, the French (facing presiden- tial elections in April), were push- ing for an early vote which while stressing impassioned drama and resoluteness, nearly guaranteed the Russian backlash. Equally Russia is playing the Tough Guy and presenting precisely the im- age Vladimir Putin wants to send both domestically and overseas in the countdown to the Russian presidential elections. While anger and rage seethed


through the Arab world in the wake of the double Russian/ Chinese veto complete with Rus- sian flag burnings and protests at Syrian diplomatic legations, (was this really part of a sophisticated diplomatic plan to make the West look like the good guys??), the practical effect derailed perhaps the last credible UN effort to stop the slide to a Syrian civil war with all the trappings. The Russians may have earned the enmity of many Arabs, but Moscow is play- ing hardball geopolitics. Syria under the Assad Family


rule has been a Soviet client state since the 1960’s and still remains a close Russian ally. The Rus- sian navy has port rights in Syria


and stands as the major weapons supplier to the Damascus regime. China has become a business partner of the Syrians too, buying up oil which is being boycotted by the Europeans. Since the start of the uprising between Assad’s


religious minority regime and a spectrum of secular and Islamic opponents, nearly 6,000 mostly civilian protesters have been killed. Following the vetoes, As- sad’s regime may feel invulnerable See METZLER on 20


THE ANTI-ROMNEY VOTE A funny thing


by Thomas Sowell Syndicated Columnist


happened to Mitt Romney on the way to his coronation as the inevita- ble Republican candidate for President of the United States. Minnesota, Michigan and Colorado hap-


pened. Rick Santorum beat him in all three states on the same day -- and beat him by huge margins in two of those states, as well as upsetting him in Colorado, where the Mormon vote was expected to give Romney a victory. The Republican establishment,


which has lined up heavily be- hind Romney, has tried to depict him as the “electable,” if not in- vincible, candidate in the general election this November. But it is hard to maintain an aura of invincibility after you have been vinced, especially in a month


when pundits had suggested that Romney might build up an unstoppable momentum of vic- tories. In a sense, this year’s campaign


for the Republican nomination is reminiscent of what happened back in 1940, when the big-name favorites -- Senators Taft and Vandenberg, back then -- were eclipsed by a lesser known can- didate who seemed to come out of nowhere. As the Republican conven-


tion that year struggled to try to come up with a majority vote for someone, a chant began in the hall and built to a crescendo: “We want Willkie! We want Willkie!” If there is a message in the rise


and fall of so many conservative Republican candidates during this year’s primary season, it seems to be today’s Republican voters saying, “We don’t want Romney! We don’t want Rom- ney!”


Even in Colorado, where Gov- See SOWELL on 20


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