Syria: Assad no longer legitimate, says Clinton

[Guest guest]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-14115762

11 July 2011 Last updated at 17:40 ET

Syria: Assad no longer legitimate, says Clinton

The US Secretary of State has said Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has " lost

legitimacy " , amid diplomatic tension between the two countries.

Speaking after a crowd attacked the US embassy in Damascus, Hillary Clinton said

Mr Bashar was " not indispensable " .

France blamed the regime after its embassy was similarly targeted.

The embassy attacks came after the US and French envoys visited the troubled

city of Hama last week, drawing sharp criticism from Syrian media.

Pro-government demonstrators have been taking part in protests outside both

embassies for the past two days.

On Monday, an embassy official told the BBC that the compound had been assaulted

by a " mob " , but that no-one had been hurt.

The residence of the ambassador, Ford, was later briefly attacked, the

state department said.

In Washington, Mrs Clinton demanded that the Syrians " meet their international

responsibilities immediately to protect all diplomats and the property of all

countries. "

She added: " President Assad is not indispensable and we have absolutely nothing

invested in him remaining in power.

" Our goal is to see that the will of the Syrian people for a democratic

transformation occurs. "

The BBC's Kim Ghattas in Washington said her statement was cleverly worded - it

might convince more Syrians to give up on Mr Assad, while not requiring any

action by Washington which can continue to say it is up to the Syrian people to

chose their leaders.

Our correspondent adds that the US had been wary of a repeat of the Libya

scenario, where after calling for Col Muammar Gaddafi to leave power, it has

struggled to make that happen.

State department spokeswoman Nuland said a Syrian diplomat would be

summoned over attack on the embassy, and compensation for the damage would be

demanded.

Live shots

Also on Monday, pro-Assad demonstrators assaulted the French embassy, breaking

windows and replacing the French tricolore with the Syrian national flag.

French ambassador Chevallier said the incident had lasted more than three

hours, and that the protesters had used a battering ram to try enter the

building.

Three embassy staff were hurt in the incident, according to the French foreign

ministry.

Ministry spokesman Bernard Valero said security officers had been forced to fire

live warning shots " to prevent multiple intrusions into the compound " .

" It is not with such illegal methods that the authorities in Damascus will turn

the attention away from the fundamental problem, which is to stop the repression

of the Syrian population, " Mr Valero said.

Human rights groups say at least 1,400 civilians and 350 security force

personnel have been killed since anti-government demonstrations across Syria

began in mid-March.

Both Mr Chevallier and Mr Ford made separate visits to the northern city of Hama

- a focus of anti-government unrest - last week, expressing support for the

protesters.

The Syrian government denies targeting civilians, saying it is tackling armed

groups.

The embassy incidents coincide with a government-organised dialogue conference

in Damascus that many opposition leaders are boycotting.

The meeting is discussing possible political reforms, which the government hope

will bring an end to the four-month-old uprising.

As the conference opened on Sunday, Vice-President Farouq al-Shara hinted at

allowing political groups other than the ruling Baath Party to operate.

But Syrian opposition figure Michel Kilo dismissed the meeting saying: " I don't

know anyone from the opposition to which I belong who is taking part in this

dialogue. "

[Guest guest]

They had better watch how they pull this. The US isn't the only big dog on the block anymore and others will soon surpass us. Once the US is down a peg or two, expect us to get this thrown right back at us.

In a message dated 7/11/2011 8:59:51 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, no_reply writes:

The US Secretary of State has said Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has "lost legitimacy", amid diplomatic tension between the two countries.

[Guest guest]

" They had better watch how they pull this. The US isn't the only big dog on the

block anymore and others will soon surpass us. Once the US is down a peg or two,

expect us to get this thrown right back at us. "

What I have been noticing lately is that contries that have economic problems

are suddenly finding themselves with a new and wonderful friend: China. They

tend to buy up debt to prop up faltering economies.

I'm also thinking that selling weaponry to foreign countries might be a great

idea for China. Presumably, all arms manufacturies are goverment run, and so

while they are claiming to produce weapons for a buyer, they can run their

factories full bore and stockpile those weapons for themselves without anybody

really noticing what they are doing. They can break armaments treaties that way.

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