Clinton rules out U.S. Syria involvement for now

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State  Hillary Clinton today ruled out the United States getting  involved in Syria in the same way as it has in Libya for now,  saying in a TV interview that each Arab uprising was unique.
Speaking in an interview which was taped on Saturday,  Clinton said the United Stated deplored the violence in Syria  but the circumstances were different in Libya, where Libyan  leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi had used his air force as well  as heavy armor against civilians.
Asked if one should expect a U.S. involvement in Syria  along the lines of the no-fly zone that the United States and  other nations have imposed over Libya, Clinton told CBS News’  “Face the Nation with Bob Schieffer” program “no.”
“Each of these situations is unique,” she added in a  transcript of the interview released by CBS. “Certainly we  deplore the violence in Syria, we call as we have on all of  these governments … to be responding to their people’s needs,  not to engage in violence, permit peaceful protests and begin a  process of economic and political reform.”
Clinton suggested the circumstances in the two nations  differed in that there was not the same level of violence in  Syria and the government’s crackdown on protests there had not  yet engendered global condemnation or calls from the Arab  League and others for a no-fly zone as there was with Libya.
“If there were a coalition of the international community,  if there was the passage of a Security Council resolution, if  there were a call by the Arab League, if there was a  condemnation that was universal, but that is not going to  happen because I don’t think it is yet clear what will occur,  what will unfold (in Syria),” Clinton said.
“What’s been happening there the last few weeks is deeply  concerning, but there’s a difference between calling out  aircraft and indiscriminately strafing and bombing your own  cities (as in Libya), than police actions which frankly have  exceeded the use of force that any of us would want to see,”  she added.