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Arab League tells US to stop interfering in Syria
BEIRUT: The Arab League said Wednesday that Washington overstepped its bounds by saying Syrian President Bashar Assad had lost the legitimacy to lead his country.
Haven't you guys heard? We're the Great Satan.
Speaking to reporters in Damascus, Arab League Chief Nabil Elaraby said Assad assured him that “Syria has entered a new era and is now moving on the road of a genuine reform.”

Syria came under withering international criticism Tuesday as the White House said Assad has “lost legitimacy” and the UN Security Council condemned attacks on the US and French embassies in Damascus.

It was a sharp escalation in pressure on Assad and a sign that the Obama administration could be moving closer to calling for regime change in Syria over the violent crackdown on a four-month-old uprising. Previously, the US position on Assad was that he should lead a transition to democracy or leave.

Elaraby said nobody has the right to say that the president of any country has lost his legitimacy.

“This issue is exclusively decided by the people,” he said after meeting Assad.
Except the ones being trampled by tanks...
Since the uprising began in mid-March, the Arab League has been mostly silent about the situation in Syria.
Wishing not to call attention to the other Arab thugocracies...
Last month, Elaraby’s deputy, Ahmed bin Heli, said Syria was a “main factor of balance and stability in the region.” Elaraby repeated that position Wednesday.

Also Wednesday, Syria’s Foreign Minister Walid Al-Moallem said he regretted Monday’s attacks by government supporters on the US and French embassies in Damascus.

“Whoever did that was wrong,” Al-Moallem said, adding that Syria is responsible for protecting the embassies and their staff “and we bear full responsibility for that.”
"We'll regret the next time we do it too," he added softly.

Posted by: Steve White 2011-07-14
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=326293