Editorial: U.N. should impose sanctions on Syria

It may be a bit before Syrian political cartoonist Ali Farzat can draw again, after progovernment thugs broke bones in his hand and arm.

But his most recent drawing of Syrian President Bashar Assad hitching a ride out of town with former Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi is an image that will last with Syrians.

Indeed, most would like to see the cartoon become a photograph, as they yearn for the day that their repressive ruler joins Gadhafi, Egypt's Hosni Mubarak and Tunisia's Zine El Abidine Ben Ali as dictators deposed due to the Arab Spring protest movement sweeping the Middle East and North Africa.

While it's unlikely that the international community will replicate the NATO airstrikes that tipped the scales in favor of Libyan rebels, recent moves from several global leaders are important steps in ridding Syria, and the world, of Assad.

On Aug. 18, the Obama administration not only called for Assad to step down but also further tightened sanctions to try to drive a wedge between Assad and his biggest backers -- the business and military elites.

Many observers complained that these actions were too late, given the ongoing and documented brutality of the regime. But it was actually savvy of Obama to wait. By doing so, he allowed an Arab -- and more important, a Turkish -- diplomatic process to run its course.

And now leaders from these countries know what Western interests learned long ago: Assad has no intention of ending his homicidal crackdown on protesters, which the United Nations says has claimed more than 2,200 people over the last five months.

Turkey's President Abdullah Gul, who has so far maintained his country's close business ties with its southern neighbor, said he had "lost confidence" in Assad, and stopped just short of calling on him to step down.

The Arab League called on Syria to "end the spilling of blood and follow the way of reason before it is too late." And even Iran's extremist theocracy, which has propped up Assad, called on the government to respect Syrians' "legitimate" demands.

And by waiting, the administration was able to coordinate with allies in Europe, including Britain, Germany, France and the European Union itself, which issued similar statements that Assad had lost legitimacy and accordingly should yield power.

While all these are welcome moves, they lack the diplomatic muscle that U.N. Security Council sanctions carry. America and its European allies will reportedly push for such a move, which would go well beyond a previously released Security Council statement.

That would be a true test for Russia and China. Both nations have Security Council veto power and have traditionally resisted U.N. sanctions, lest their authoritative governments come under similar scrutiny.

The case may get even stronger, as the U.N. Human Rights Council investigates what it calls a "systematic human rights violation" by the Assad regime. Human-rights organizations have already documented gruesome abuses by Assad's government.

These reports should be given full weight by the International Criminal Court in the Hague, which rightfully indicted Gadhafi, his son Saif al-Islam and his chief of military intelligence for crimes against humanity. A similar indictment is deserved, and would further delegitimize Assad.

Ultimately, absent an international military intervention, it will be up to Syrians to rid the country of its second-generation dictator. But any kind of strategic help the international community can give is warranted and welcome.

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