Syrian situation needs attention

As I read the daily accounts from Syria, I am moved by the lack of respect for human life demonstrated by the Syrian regime ["Mass detention of men," News, June 17].

As a Muslim, I feel all the more pain as I watch my brothers and sisters mutilated and executed in the name of a regime that does not subscribe to moral decency. As an attorney, I am disheartened by the lack of rule of law. As a student of library science, which advocates for social justice in many forms, I am disgusted by what is happening in this part of the Middle East. As an American, I am confused as to how we respond with no more that sanctions.

If we do not act, we are guilty for our self-absorption and are, in essence, also guilty in the deaths. I view myself as the first of those who have failed and are hence guilty.

Imtiaz Jafar, Baldwin