Syria

Indirect intervention in Syria is less sure to succeed than direct intervention, but it may be more doable, giving the people the time and help they need to liberate themselves.

"Protest technology" has changed the relationship between authoritarian regimes and their citizens, and there is no going back.

Humanitarian safe havens can protect vulnerable civilians only if backed up with sufficient power.

Washington suffered two setbacks in the Middle East this weekend: the Russian/Chinese veto of a U.S.-backed UN Security Council resolution on Syria, and news that the Egyptian judiciary has indicted nineteen Americans in a wide-ranging investigation of U.S.-supported pro-democracy organizations.

An interview by Bernard Gwertzman, CFR.org Amid a surge of violence in Syria, the UN Security Council will discuss Tuesday whether to pass a resolution (Reuters) supporting the Arab League's plan, which calls for Syrian president Bashar al-Assad to step down to defuse a ten-month-old uprising against his regime. Russia

Protesters in the Middle East have made clear that they look to the U.S. for inspiration and support, and that they look down on the U.S. when they believe this support is not materializing.

The Russian refusal thus far to support international action against al-Assad is based solely on Russia's fear of losing access to the port of Tartus.

Obama's brief, but pointed, focus on the Middle East during his State of the Union address was clear in its determination that Washington will use all diplomatic means available to further the toppling of Bashar al-Assad's regime of terror.

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