AP sources: US closer to calling for Assad to go

[Viva_La_Revolution]

Source: AP

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Obama administration is edging closer to calling for an end to the long rule of the Assad family in Syria. Administration officials said Tuesday that the first step would be to say for the first time that President Bashar Assad has forfeited his legitimacy to rule, a major policy shift that would amount to a call for regime change that has questionable support in the world community.

The tougher U.S. line almost certainly would echo demands for "democratic transition" that the administration used in Egypt and is now espousing in Libya, the officials said. But directly challenging Assad's leadership is a decision fraught with problems: Arab countries are divided, Europe is still trying to gauge its response, and there are major doubts over how far the United States could go to back up its words with action.

Read more: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_US_SYRIA?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2011-05-10-18-12-21

[notesdev]

1. Here comes war #4

Any bets on whether this one will actually be a legal, declared war?

[joshcryer]

7. Everyone and their mother will be hand wringing over this one.

At most there will be sanctions. Anything beyond that is a potential fall into WWIII.

[killbotfactory]

2. Good

Syrians deserve a democratic government, too.

[Autumn]

3. So is Democracy becoming our favorite export?

Lets see, Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, guess one more won't kill us.

[Knight Hawk]

4. Excellent

The Assad family are criminals.Syria supports Iran and Hizbullah and most likely was involved in the killing of the freely elected ,well liked leader of Lebanon,Rafik Harriri.The current regime of Syria are bad actors .Confiscate all their assets and put them on trial for crimes against humanity.

[joshcryer]

6. Let's wipe out Iraq 2003. I would have expected Saddam to be having similar uprisings.

This is not an export of US values, this is basically the Arab world being fed up with US policies (pro-dictator).

[joshcryer]

5. China and Russia will never allow anyone to intervene, so it'll be calculated how he does it.

[bhikkhu]

8. Simply severing relations with murderous dictators is good

It doesn't require war, just a moral stand, and it does make a difference.

[Turborama]

9. I agree and am surprised it's taken this long. Why no sanctions on Assad, though?

I also think there are a lot of people who are still twitchy after what the Bush junta did in 8 years and immediately jump to the "THIS MEANS WAR!!!" conclusion in times like this.