"... I don't think we have yet decided that there is some alternative to Assad..."

Via FLC

"... the situation in Syria seems to pose a particular and puzzling riddle for the United States.

While anti-government protests in Egypt, Tunisia, Bahrain and Yemen have challenged U.S.-allied regimes, anti-government protests in Syria threaten a regime that Iran would hate to see fall. By the logic of "the enemy of my enemy is my friend," Washington would seem to welcome the growing protests in Syria against President Bashar al-Assad's regime ..., the United States still appears to view the Syrian unrest with caution..., the Obama administration has not called on Assad to step down (as it did with long-time ally Hosni Mubarak in Egypt and Muammar Gadhafi in Libya). The seeming ambivalence has several explanations. Reports initially suggested that the U.S. and its European allies didn't see the Syrian protests as having critical mass. Washington then became distracted by the war in Libya ...

"Syria is very tricky for us," said Ellen Laipson, president of the Stimson Center and a former senior National Security Council official. While the United States "is actively worried Iran could be exploiting unrest in region, I don't think we yet have a clear position ourselves on the turmoil in Syria," Laipson said. "I don't think we have yet decided that there is some alternative to Assad that we can embrace and support in some way."

Still, the newfound U.S. urgency comes as the Syrian unrest is taking on an increasingly sectarian nature, said Andrew Tabler, ...."The specter of that is very frightening for the United States and also for other countries in the region," Tabler said. "That is the reason why the United States is being very careful in my opinion. Once that is on fire, it is difficult to put out, as we have seen in Iraq."..."

Posted by G, M, Z, or B at 4:58 PM

River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian