Battleland

We will not be bombing Syria for reasons that are unclear

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President Obama late last month told the American people that he would dispatch U.S. military might against Libya’s Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi to avoid the slaughter of innocent civilians, killings that had already “reverberated across the region and stained the conscience of the world.”

That’s a clear standard. President Bashar al-Assad in Syria unleashed his forces on protestors Friday. They used live ammunition, killing at least 109 people. Saturday, Assad’s thugs opened fire on civilians attending the funerals of those murdered the day before. Another 11 died.

TIME’s Michael Crowley has noted that when it comes to the slaughter in Syria, the White House is monitoring events closely.