Syria Worsens as Obama Campaigns

Early on Wednesday bombs hit in or near the Syrian regime army command headquarters in Damascus, followed by hours of sporadic gunbattles and a fire in one of the buildings inside the heavily guarded compound. Witnesses said they saw panicked soldiers shooting in the air randomly as they ran. The suicide attack shows both the determination and reach of the rebels dedicated to toppling President Bashar Assad's regime. The Free Syrian Army claimed responsibility for the suicide car bombings, confirmed in surveiiance camera footage, in a statement signed by the group's military council, saying dozens were killed in the attack. Residents of the upscale neighborhood near the attack have been sheltered from the violence that has shaken other parts of Damascus. Syrian Human Rights Observatory, which relies on activists in Syria, also reported armed clashes inside the compound of the army command that overlooks the immense central Damascus landmark Omayyad Square, adding that there were casualties on both sides. Since the protests began in March 2011, becoming a civil war through al-Assad's refusal to enter discussions with the protesters, the rebels have targeted security sites and symbols of regime power in an attempt to turn the tide in the war that has killed 30,000 people. UN Secretaty General Ban Ki-moon declared that the situation in Syria is a serious and growing threat to international peace and security that requires attention from the Security Council. But, dear readers, Russia and China have vetoed three Western-backed resolutions aimed at pressuring al-Assad to end the violence and enter negotiations on a political transition. President Barack Obama, speaking this week at tbe annual UN General Assembly meeting, pledged US support for Syrians trying to oust al-Assad, whom he called "a dictator who massacres his own people." And the massacre goes on -- in the past two days more than 500 Syrians have been killed in the civil war - 365 on Thursday in the highest one-day total since the conflict began. Yesterday, Qatar and Saudi Arabia called for protection of the rebel-controlled areas to prevent al-Assad bombings. This would require a no-fly zone to be created. The question then would become - who and how to enforce it. So far, only France has suggested that it is ready to undertake protection of civilians in rebel-held areas. President Obama left New York without meeting any of the principal players in the Syrian conflict. Perhaps his need to get back on the campaign trail was also a way of avoiding the "no-fly zone" question he would have been asked.