Obama administration calls for Syrian president to step down as hundreds are killed Calls come as

Obama administration calls for Syrian president to step down as hundreds are killed
Calls come as Clinton expressed concern about European democracies as well

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THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Saturday, February 4, 2012, 10:44 AM


MUNICH — The Obama administration on Saturday called for stepped up U.S.-European cooperation to isolate tyrannies like the Assad regime in Syria, promote democracy in the Arab World and beyond and repair damage from the global financial crisis.

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U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Americans and Europeans must send a clear and common message to tyrants that they must respect the rights of their people. She spoke as violence flared anew in Syria ahead of an expected vote on a U.N. Security Council resolution on the matter later Saturday.

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“It is not credible to preach democracy elsewhere unless we also protect it within our community,” she said. “The trappings of democracy are not enough.”


Clinton said she had no doubt that Europe would overcome its economic woes. But she said it was imperative for a common agenda and enhanced cooperation to reinforce recoveries on both sides of the Atlantic.