Russia and China miss their chance to do the right thing

Russia and China share many things with Syrian strongman Bashar Assad: political philosophy, arms and now, the blood of peaceful protesters who have been paying with their lives for their calls for Assad’s ouster.

Russia and China had the opportunity to join a host of other nations, including the Arab League and virtually every Western democracy calling for Assad to stop slaughtering his own people and begin a peaceful transition to a democratic government. Instead, they used their veto power to kill a United Nations Security Council resolution aimed at ending 11 months of bloodshed.

Russia and China certainly have the right to cast a veto, but when they do, they own the consequences. Instead, diplomats for both nations gave mealy-mouthed explanations that attempted to place the blame on the nations that sought the vote, saying they were moving too fast. When people unarmed people have been dying in the streets for nearly a year, and when the armed opposition is growing, virtually assuring an escalation of violence, it’s almost ludicrous to complain that those seeking peace are moving too fast.

The failure of the resolution forced other nations to take more dramatic diplomatic action that will cause further isolation of Assad’s regime.

The United States closed its embassy in Damascus as Britain, France, Italy, Spain, Belgium and six Gulf nations pulled their ambassadors from teh Syrian capital.

Assaults increase

Meanwhile, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov arrived in Damascus to a hero’s welcome organized by Assad loyalists, even while Assad’s troops renewed their assault on one of the main centers of the opposition, the city of Homs. Activists reported that tanks were closing in on the besieged Baba Amr neighborhood.

There have been some calls in Congress for U.S. military support for the Free Syrian Army. As despicable as China and Russia’s support for Assad is, it would be a mistake for the United States to make a military commitment. The situation on the ground is much more complicated than what was presented in Libya last year, when air support was enough to give the rebels there an upper hand against Moammar Gadhafi.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan of neighboring Turkey, which was once a strong Assad supporter, said Turkey would “launch a new initiative with countries that stand by the Syrian people instead of the regime.”

As Syria’s neighbors ramp up their support for the rebels, Assad may find that even two such powerful friends as China and Russia are not enough to save him. He may still have time to stop the killing and engineer a graceful flight to exile in any one of a number of countries that would be willing to play host to his family and the billions he has plundered from his people.

He would be wise to do that before international opposition coalesces further, internal forces gain strength, and he finds his exits blocked. Then he would be risking an unhappy fate not unlike that which befell Gadhafi.