Saul Landau posted a very sensible article on Znet about Syria.
https://znetwork.org/the-syrian-dilemma-by-saul-landau
Shamus Cooke has also been very good on this topic. It appears, judging by Znet writers (with rare exception like Stephen Zunes) that the Left will not be taken in by the West's campaign for regime change in Syria. Unfortunately, that was not the case in Libya.
However, once again I notice the Left following the corporate media's lead even when it rejects the corporate media's analysis. They talk Libya, we talk Libya. They drop Libya and talk Syria, we follow suit.
A sense of urgency is manufactured and then dismantled at will according to the needs of western imperialism – not according to any morally defensible criteria. We should never underestimate the corporate media's ability to do that.
Child mortality in Israeli occupied Palestinin territory is about 8 times higher than it is for Israeli children. That translates into about 3,500 needless Palestinian child deaths every year that are a direct and fully intended result of an occuptaion lavishly funded by the USA (and a number of allies like Canada). Where is the sense of urgency to put an end to that?
Western governments and corporate media ignored Libyans after its clients took power. All the loudly expressed compassion and concern evaporated even though very grave human righst concerns did not. Why would Syria be any different when essentially the same script is being followed?
NATO and the rebel militias they were arming, training and directingin Libya committed, and are still committing, crimes and against humanity such as torture, ethnic cleansing, massacres, arbitrary arrests, widespread racist persecution, the deliberate bombing of schools, colleges and food warehouses, the deliberate bombingof civilian media outlets.People willing to look hard enough can find this some of this documented in very power friendly sources – Washington Post Amnesty, HRW, UNESCO, BBC – sources most likely to downplay rather than exaggerate the crimes (links 1-6 below).
The most useful thing Westerners can do – not just for Syrians but the world – is seek to prevent any more murderous and imperial projects under the propaganda cover of "humanitarian intervention". Another useful thing we can do is never fail to remind ourselves about the topics the corporate media ignores.
[1] http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-16573516
[2] http://www.amnesty.org/en/news/libya-deaths-detainees-amid-widespread-torture-2012-01-26
[3]http://www.hrw.org/news/2011/10/30/libya-militias-terrorizing-residents-loyalist-town
[4] http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle-east/in-libya-the-peril-of-being-black/2011/09/09/gIQAY2FoFK_print.html
[5] http://www.unesco.org/new/en/media-services/single-view/news/director_general_deplores_nato_strike_on_libyan_state_television_facilities/
[6] http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/18/world/africa/scores-of-unintended-casualties-in-nato-war-in-libya.html?_r=2
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