U.S. Embassy in Damascus on offensive

DAMASCUS, Syria, Oct. 13 (UPI) -- The U.S. Embassy in Damascus defended the U.S. political system as comparisons between the Arab Spring and the Occupy Wall Street movement grow.

Syrian officials blame domestic thugs and foreign interference for the sustained unrest in the country. Though the official Syrian Arab News Agency hasn't issued any statements specifically on the anti-capitalist movement in the United States, Syria's allies in Iran said Washington should prepare itself for an American Spring.

The U.S. Embassy in Damascus, in a posting on its Facebook page, said Syrian media was broadcasting "lots of news" about the Wall Street protests in the United States.

The embassy statement recognized the growing frustration back home, where housing prices continue to fall while unemployment remains relatively high.

But, the embassy said, U.S. citizens can head to the polls to vote in a new president in 2012 in an election not controlled by the state and Wall Street protesters can say "whatever they want about the U.S. government without being arrested or shot."

Though skirmishes were reported during Boston protests, the Occupy Wall Street movement has remained peaceful. The embassy recognized some issues related to public order but said none of the demonstrators arrested in the United States were tortured while in custody.

U.N. agencies said there was evidence that Syrian security forces were torturing children who were detained during the uprising. The latest death toll since mid-March is moving closer to 3,000 in Syria.