Even so, the focus on this particular red line has obscured the many other red lines Assad has crossed — not necessarily those articulated by the president, or by other leaders, but red lines recognized by civilized people everywhere. I’m one of those people who are preoccupied with the effects of chemical weapons, and the moral consequences of using them (repeated visits to Halabja, the Kurdish town in Iraq gassed by Saddam Hussein, will do that to you). And while I’m the first to acknowledge the ghastly nature of sarin, it’s important to remember that it isn’t the only horrible weapon in Assad’s arsenal.
For instance, a red line against raping girls was crossed many months ago. A Human Rights Watch report tells what happened in the town of Karm al-Zeitoun when government agents visited one apartment building. According to an eyewitness the group calls Selma, pro-Assad forces knocked on a neighbor’s door:
“One of them said, ‘Open or we will shoot.’ She did not open the door and they shot at it,” Selma said. When the men entered, the neighbor told them, “I will kiss your feet but don’t come near us.” Selma could hear a girl fighting with one of them. “He was saying, ’Oh, you are going to scratch me too?’ She pushed him and he shot her in the head. She was the oldest. 20 years old.”
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