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Assad's End
(Weekly Standard) Lee Smith - Assad's fall is not only good for the future of Syria. It is also very much in the interests of the United States. Assad is not about to go quietly. Energy sanctions will weaken the regime, hindering its ability to pay the security forces going about their bloody work, and persuading the merchant middle class that its interests may no longer be aligned with Assad's. But sanctions are unlikely to break the regime's back. Assad will fight, and so will his Iranian allies, whose 30-year investment in Hizbullah may depend on the survival of the regime in Damascus that arms Iran's Lebanese asset. Syria and Iran and their clients in Gaza, Lebanon, Iraq, and elsewhere may hit closer to home by targeting direct American interests and U.S. military and diplomatic personnel. The White House would do well to recognize that the goal of the Syrian opposition - Assad's exit - runs parallel to American interests.