What is the difference between Libya and Syria?

And why airstrikes on one and not the other?

Tanks storm south Syria city as U.S. piles on pressure

The West warned of more pressure on Syria on Tuesday if a crackdown against pro-democracy protests continues, hours after tanks stormed a city in the south, cradle of an uprising against Baathist rule.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that both the European Union and the United States -- which have already slapped sanctions on a number of senior Syrian officials but not on President Bashar al-Assad -- were planning more steps.

....

Rights activists say a crackdown to crush a two-month wave of protests against Assad has killed at least 700 civilians.

Syrian tanks moved into a southern city in the Hauran Plain on Tuesday after encircling it for three weeks, activists said.

...

"The troops are now combing neighborhoods in Nawa and arresting scores of men," one activist said.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/17/us-syria-idUSLDE73N02P20110517

Oil production per day. Country rankings.

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2173rank.html

with the use of tanks against civilians. Before NATO initiated a no-fly zone in Libya, there were a number of intermediary steps such as this. People forget how long it took for international pressure to mount.

In practice, the leadership of the counttry has a big impact. Assad and his father, while not exactly Western allies, are well respected and well integrated into the Arab world and the world at large. Assad is educated, Westernized, and runs a stable government.

Qaddaffi, despite his later acceptance by the West, historically is still a pariah. Everyone knows he's an odd duck, and his supporters are primarily countries he has benefited in sub-Saharan Africa. When Qaddaffi was attacked, many countries were perturbed, but few rose to his defense in any significant way. Syria is a different matter.

The irascible lunatic down the street who doesn't mow his yard is much more likely to get arrested for domestic violence than the well respected doctor who lives down the street, even if the evidence is the same.

I hope Assad either backs off or the UN puts on some more effective pressure. It would be sad for Syria to become another Libya, but it would be tragic for it to become another Chechnya.

2 Libya is situated between Tunisia and Egypt, two nations that most recently underwent major democracy protest movements and transitions.

3. Qaddafi murdered two hundred+ innocent men, women and children with the Pan Am Bombing over Scotland, these were mostly Europeans and Americans.

To everything there is a season and I believe, Libya's harvest time is now but if Assad doesn't change course his time will come as well.

Thanks for the thread, The Straight Story.