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Assad's Endgame: Can a Bloodbath Be Avoided?
(Washington Post) David Ignatius - The governments of France, Saudi Arabia and Jordan, which at times in the past have been supportive of Assad, are all said to have concluded that the Assad regime cannot survive the repercussions of the violence it loosed on Syrian protesters in recent weeks. Turkey, too, also appears less supportive. But the White House Tuesday appeared to be weighing whether to make one last attempt at brokering the kind of reforms that Assad has said for years he wanted but has never implemented. The U.S. initially held back from personally sanctioning Assad, deciding instead to concentrate its fire on the hard-liners around him. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Tuesday, however, that the U.S. is preparing additional sanctions. Many U.S. analysts see Assad as having squandered any chance he had to be a credible reformer.