Timeline Of The Middle East

US must soon decide whose side is it on in Syria

"President Assad is not indispensable and we have absolutely nothing invested in him remaining in power…from our perspective, he has lost legitimacy," U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Tuesday – suggesting for the first time that Washington may support toppling the Syrian regime.

Although Clinton was responding to attacks on the U.S. and French embassies in Damascus by pro-Assad protesters, her words indicate a sharp deterioration in the relations between the two countries.

Just last January, two days after riots erupted in Tunisia, the U.S. sent an ambassador to Syria for the first time after a six-year diplomatic freeze. Washington assumed it could engage in a political dialogue with Damascus, and considered Syria a future partner in stabilizing the security situation in Iraq and curbing Iran's regional influence.

When the demonstrations broke out in Syria, the U.S. avoided taking a firm stand against Assad, but rather stated that the Syrian regime must introduce reforms, uphold a democracy and stop suppressing the protests. Moreover, the sanctions put forward against Syria were intended to force the existing regime to comply with the protesters' demands, but not to oust Assad or dismantle his political mechanisms.

Washington estimated that Assad will stay in power anyway, and that perhaps that would serve U.S. interests better by blocking Iran's influence from extending into Syria – as it is in Iraq – in addition to her already strong sway over Lebanon.

Therefore, the U.S. saw in the prospect of a national dialogue between the authorities and the opposition a possibility for leverage that would change the regime's policies without toppling it. Syrian opposition members have also claimed that they came under U.S. pressure to engage in dialogue and reconcile with the government.

Indeed, some opposition members who took part in the national dialogue conventions refrained from calling for Bashar's departure and limited their demands to political and economic reforms. By doing so, they infuriated other opposition groups who demand reforms be introduced only after the regime changes.

It seems now that Washington also understands the Syrian national dialogue is nothing but a government attempt to show it is willing to introduce reforms, but without including a detailed plan or a timeline.

Arab Spring: An Interactive Timeline of Middle East Protests ...

This timeline from British news source, The Guardian, begins on December, 2010 and will expand as Middle East and African countries continue to experience unrest and revolutions.  A key is provided which identifies a political move, a regime change, an international response and a protest/government response to the protest.  Drag the timeline slider to understand how different countries have experienced Arab Spring rebellions.

http://www.guardian.co.

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