سوريا

The conflict in Syria that some expected to simmer down is in fact boiling, and the Arab League delegation must be enhanced accordingly.

An interview by Bernard Gwertzman, CFR.org Amid mounting violence that has killed more than five thousand in Syria, it is "almost inevitable" the regime of President Bashar al-Assad will collapse, says Dennis Ross, a former senior Middle East adviser to President Obama. "When a regime is entirely dependent on coercion

Without external intercession, the violence in Syria is likely to escalate, with destabilizing consequences for its neighbors, particularly Lebanon and Iraq.

Among all the countries experiencing Arab Spring protests, Syria is uniquely positioned to fall under Turkish influence once its dictator is toppled.

The growing armed opposition movement against the Asad regime is becoming an increasingly important element in the Syrian equation.

Turkey is rising to the challenge to lead the Middle East by example.

The discovery that Syria may have tried to build a centrifuge plant is reawakening concerns about the extent of the regime's nuclear ambitions and the proliferation of crucial technology by Pakistan.

Although military action in Syria would carry some risks, not intervening in the face of the regime's now fully revealed violent and repressive nature carries its own dangers.

If Washington is not going to compel Asad to step down, the least it can do is help protect those Syrians brave enough to continue to call for change themselves.