According t o a Reuters report appearing in the Israeli left-wing newspaper HaAretz (http://tinyurl.com/6lf667c),
Protesters loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad broke into the U.S. embassy compound in Damascus on Monday, according to diplomats, while other reports say French embassy guards have opened live fire on protesters trying to enter the compound
The pantywaist POTUS "reacted gingerly so far to the protests in Syria, part of a wave of unrest in the Arab world that toppled rulers in Egypt and Tunisia and led to NATO involvement in a civil war in Libya," Reuters noted.
How is it that the French - hardly known for bravery in defense of anything - opened "live fire" on the protesters while the Marines probably were ordered to hide behind local gangsters, probably with empty weapons.
Pity the poor Marines; they must be hiding their faces in shame - not for their inaction but for the leadership's tying of their hands.
Is it any wonder that the United States is becoming the Rodney Dangerfield of nations?
An aside: This "tying the hands" of the military is nothing new and not limited to either political party. US Army soldiers for years patrolled the Korean demilitarized zone (DMZ) with empty weapons. Stupidity and a willingness to put Americans at risk is not the monopoly of either Democrat or Republican politicians.
Meanwhile, the U.S. ambassador to Syria, Robert Ford, "called on the Syrian government to meet its responsibility under the Vienna Convention to protect diplomats and diplomatic facilities," the US State Department said.
Based on recent experience, that's not likely to happen.
