Arab Media Shaming Obama into Syria Intervention

The Jerusalem Post reports “Gulf backed pan-Arab media [is leading a] media blitz” that includes articles focused “on shaming Obama into action” in Syria.

These calls for U.S. intervention have hit “a fever pitch” since photographs of Syrians allegedly killed in a chemical weapons attack were circulated last week.

These photos are being coupled with “moral arguments” to try to show how the Obama administration has been duplicitous by supporting the Muslim Brotherhood’s revolution in Egypt but refusing to support the rebels in Syria.

The Jerusalem Post quotes an August 23 article in the Saudi-backed Asharq al-Awsat which claims the West resorts to “pretexts to refrain from arming the rebels, ignoring the daily bloodletting of Syrians.” On August 25, Al-Arabiya News pressed Obama for ignoring “his own red line over the use of chemical weapons by the Assad regime.”

Articles in other publications argue that Obama will only intervene when it is beneficial to the U.S. specifically, rather for the purposes of saving lives and ending torture.

There is no consensus on whether these shame tactics will work, but Obama has reportedly agreed with U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron on carrying out a strike against Syria.

Follow AWR Hawkins on Twitter @AWRHawkins.