There is no real doubt that the regime in the Middle Eastern nation of Syria has brutally suppressed an uprising by Syrian civilians, in an attempt to maintain dictatorial power.
About 3,000 Syrians have been killed. Others have been tortured or jailed.
So you might think it would be an easy decision for the member nations of the U.N. to unite in denouncing the crackdown and in threatening sanctions if the Syrian government doesn’t stop attacking its own people.
But even that lukewarm action was rejected by the U.N. recently.
Russia and Communist China vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution that would have raised the possibility of sanctions against Syria if it didn’t stop the attacks on civilians.