Better Example...

of having a national security interest at stake?

BEIRUT, Lebanon — Pro-government demonstrators attacked the American and French embassy compounds in Damascus on Monday and tried to break into their buildings. The crowd expressed anger over visits by the French and American ambassadors to a central Syrian city that has emerged as a flashpoint of the popular uprising against the Syrian government, now nearly four-months old.

The demonstrators threw rocks, eggs and tomatoes at the two buildings and tried to storm both compounds. But American Marine guards blocked their way at the United States embassy, and French guards at one point fired live ammunition in the air to drive the attackers away, according to eyewitnesses and activists. There were no reports of casualties. French guards briefly detained one of the protesters, according to eyewitnesses.

The attack on the embassies is the second since Robert Ford, the American ambassador, and his French counterpart, Eric Chevallier, visited Hama, which has become a hub for demonstrations against the government of President Bashar al-Assad. On Monday, protesters also attacked Mr. Ford’s residence several blocks from the embassy.
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For their part, the two Western governments expressed fury on Monday over the attacks, which were widely assumed to have taken place with the government’s tacit approval. “We strongly condemn the Syrian government’s refusal to protect our embassy, and demand compensation for damages,” the State Department said in a statement on Monday. “We call on the Syrian government to fulfill its obligations to its own citizens as well.” The French government also complained about lack of protection from the Syrian authorities, and said the attacks on its embassy were recurring.

France said in a statement that “well-organized groups” had attacked the embassy with a battering ram in an attempt to storm the embassy. The statement by Bernard Valero, the spokesman for the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said the attackers destroyed the ambassador’s vehicle and wounded three guard, “and this in front of Syrian security forces manifestly in little hurry to stop these violent acts.” Security guards at the embassy fired three warning shots during the incident, he said.

We don't need any foreign hostages, akin to 1979 in Iran.