InfoAnda - Insight: Cautious on Syria, Obama moves to help rebels |

Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case
Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They

Taiwan denies boycotting Australian film festival
Thursday, August 6, 2009

AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e

Merkel's support dips, regional ally resigns International
Thursday, September 3, 2009

By Sarah Marsh and Noah Barkin

BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German

Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who

Asian markets mixed after Wall Street rally
Wednesday, March 18, 2009

By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an

Hollie Cavanagh couldn't make 'Idol' fans love her | | 11 May 2012
Taliban attacks increasingly kill Afghan civilians | 13 July 2010
Israeli PM seeks 10-month new settlement halt | 26 November 2009

Microfinance faces hurdles in empowering Afghan women | | 28 December 2010

Forum Views () Forum Replies ()

Read more with google mobile : Insight: Cautious on Syria, Obama moves to help rebels |

Edition: U.S. Africa Arabic Argentina Brazil Canada China France Germany India Italy Japan Latin America Mexico Russia Spain United Kingdom Home Business Business Home Economy Technology Media Small Business Legal Deals Earnings Social Pulse Business Video The Freeland File Aerospace & Defense Markets Markets Home U.S. Markets European Markets Asian Markets Global Market Data Indices M&A Stocks Bonds Currencies Commodities Futures Funds peHUB World World Home U.S. Brazil China Euro Zone Japan Mexico Russia India Insight World Video Reuters Investigates Decoder Politics Politics Home Election 2012 Campaign Polling Tales from the Trail Political Punchlines Supreme Court Politics Video Tech Technology Home MediaFile Science Tech Video Tech Tonic Social Pulse Opinion Opinion Home Chrystia Freeland John Lloyd Felix Salmon Jack Shafer David Rohde Bernd Debusmann Nader Mousavizadeh Lucy P. Marcus David Cay Johnston Bethany McLean Anatole Kaletsky Edward Hadas Hugo Dixon Ian Bremmer Lawrence Summers Susan Glasser The Great Debate Steven Brill Jack & Suzy Welch Frederick Kempe Christopher Papagianis Mark Leonard Breakingviews Equities Credit Private Equity M&A Macro & Markets Politics Breakingviews Video Money Money Home Tax Break Lipper Awards 2012 Global Investing MuniLand Unstructured Finance Linda Stern Mark Miller John Wasik James Saft Analyst Research Alerts Watchlist Portfolio Stock Screener Fund Screener Personal Finance Video Money Clip Investing 201 Life Olympics Health Sports Arts Faithworld Business Traveler Entertainment Oddly Enough Lifestyle Video Pictures Pictures Home Reuters Photographers Full Focus Video Reuters TV Reuters News Article Comments (8) Slideshow Full Focus Editor's choice Our best photos from the last 24 hours. See more Images of June Follow Reuters Facebook Twitter RSS YouTube Read Pop music too loud and all sounds the same: official 26 Jul 2012 Facebook revenue growth skids, shares plunge 26 Jul 2012 Citi sees 90 percent chance of Greece leaving the euro 26 Jul 2012 China-Canada oil deal raises political hackles in Washington 1:10am EDT India to give free generic drugs to hundreds of millions 05 Jul 2012 Discussed 246 Mexico urges U.S. to review gun laws after Colorado shooting 158 Fourteen killed in Denver movie theater shooting 105 Penn State hit with $60 million fine, other penalties for Sandusky scandal Watched Facebook loses more Wall St. friends Thu, Jul 26 2012 New York café sells only water Tue, Jul 24 2012 U.S. rover seeks Martian life with new focus Thu, Jul 26 2012 Sponsored Links Pictures Reuters Photojournalism Our day's top images, in-depth photo essays and offbeat slices of life. See the best of Reuters photography. See more | Photo caption Flashback: Beijing A look back at the opening ceremonies of the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China. Slideshow My name is ... What their moms named these famous singers. Slideshow Insight: Cautious on Syria, Obama moves to help rebels Tweet Share this Email Print Related News Timeline: U.S. policy shifts on Syria in Obama administration 1:11am EDT Related Topics World » Syria » 1 of 2. U.S. President Barack Obama speaks at a Cabinet Meeting in the Cabinet Room at the White House in Washington, July 26, 2012. Credit: Reuters/Larry Downing By Tabassum Zakaria and Matt Spetalnick and Andrew Quinn WASHINGTON | Fri Jul 27, 2012 1:11am EDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In his first year in office, U.S. President Barack Obama sent a letter to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad seeking a new start to a long-strained relationship. In his third year, Obama demanded that Assad step down. Now, nearing the end of his first term, with a presidential election looming in November, Obama is moving cautiously toward greater support for Syrian rebels, as international diplomatic efforts that had been Obama's first preference falter. Reuters has learned that the White House has crafted a presidential directive, called a "finding," that would authorize greater covert assistance for the rebels, while still stopping short of arming them. It is not clear whether Obama has signed the document, and U.S. officials declined to comment on the finding, which is a highly classified authorization for covert activity. But in recent days, the Obama administration has signaled publicly it plans more help for the rebels. "I have to say that we are also increasing our efforts to assist the opposition," Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Tuesday. The administration is seeking ways to help Assad's opponents by increasing supplies of communications equipment and sharing intelligence about Assad's troop movements. The United States has already sent encrypted radios. The administration is also trying to help the rebels become better organized, planning for when Assad falls, and keenly monitoring Syria's chemical weapons stockpiles to ensure they are secure. Clinton hinted this week that if the rebels could control a swathe of Syrian territory from which to operate, more U.S. and allied backing would follow. The decision to lend greater logistical and political backing for the rebels is the latest step in Obama's odyssey over the Syria conflict, where the president chose early on not to intervene with U.S. military force. Critics charge that Obama has moved too cautiously as Assad's well-armed forces have massacred civilians, a bloodbath that dissidents say has killed more than 18,000 since the uprising first flared in the city of Deraa in March 2011. Another potential massacre now looms in the city of Aleppo. "We have been very slow to this, not organized. Even our intelligence services have been slow to position themselves to garner better information," said House of Representatives Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers, a Republican. "We were slow in even getting to the place where a decision was made to engage in other tools and capabilities of the United States which I am not at liberty to discuss," he said. A TELLING LACK OF DISSENT One of the most telling signs that the administration sees few good options in Syria is the apparent lack of major policy disagreement among Obama's advisers. "There was more on Egypt and Libya," a senior administration official said. "Sometimes you are faced with a set of options, none of which are good, and you make a judgment of what you think is the least bad of the options you face," said Dennis Ross, who advised Obama on Middle East policy. "In Syria, I think that's been the approach of the administration: adopt the least bad option." Some State Department officials reportedly have bristled at the White House's domination over even small details of Syria strategy. But there has never been much support among Obama's top advisers for the pivotal step of giving weapons to fractious anti-Assad fighters, some of whom are anti-Western Islamists. "It's been on the agenda at meetings, but there has not been sufficient enthusiasm for that type of program of arming the opposition that the president had to spend a lot of time talking about (it) with his advisers," said the senior official, describing internal deliberations on condition of anonymity. Those who have worked with Obama say no single adviser has his ear on Syria. "There are rings of people who have his ear in the sense that he listens to them seriously, but there is no Svengali or Rasputin in this game, he makes his own decisions," said former Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg, now dean of Syracuse University's Maxwell School. Thomas Donilon, Obama's national security adviser, is a meticulous policy planner who asks for exhaustive studies of any issue before drawing conclusions, aides say privately. Syria is no exception. He has kept his staff busy for months reviewing Syria policy options, should the president ask for a list of alternatives. One U.S. government source said the new presidential finding had been on Donilon's desk for quite some time without further action. A second senior administration official objected to the notion of slow movement on Syria: "I will not get into specifics, but no policy decision like this languishes at the White House." REPUBLICANS TAKE AIM Far more complex than Libya, where Obama put U.S. clout and warplanes behind the effort to oust Muammar Gaddafi, Syria is sometimes described as a potential "Lebanon on steroids," referring to the latter country's sectarian divide and 1975-1990 civil war. Assad and his closest allies belong to the minority Alawites, while the majority of Syrians are Sunni Muslim. Other minorities include Kurds, Christians and Druze. Adding to the complexity, opposition groups, according to some U.S. estimates, number in the low hundreds, some little more than neighborhood protection units. Direct U.S. involvement would also bring the danger of a superpower confrontation. Russia is Syria's long-time ally. Nor has the president been eager for another conflict in the Middle East as he seeks to put the Iraq and Afghanistan wars in the rear-view mirror. The 2012 election year adds to the decibel of criticism. Republican presidential challenger Mitt Romney accused Obama of having "abdicated leadership" on the Syria crisis. "They have no policy. I think they lurch from one level of rhetoric to another. They have run out of adjectives and adverbs and meanwhile the situation cries out for American leadership and that is totally absent," said Senator John McCain, a Republican who supports arming the rebels. "I've met with leaders in the region, and they say we need American leadership and obviously that's not there," McCain told Reuters. Edward Djerejian, former U.S. ambassador to Syria and now founding director of the Baker Institute at Rice University, said Obama's policy "is not hands-off, it's just that there is no simple international response to what is happening in Syria." THE TURKISH TIE-UP Obama made his boldest known move in the Syria crisis cautiously, underscoring his preference for diplomacy and coalition-building. Nearly a year ago, he called on Assad to step aside. But Obama first sought to make sure key allies were with him. On August 11, 2011, Obama called Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan essentially to tell him the United States was going to call for Assad to go, the first senior administration official said. What followed, the official said, was an unusually detailed conversation for two world leaders. Erdogan, who had also reached out to Syria and whose foreign minister had held talks with Assad in Damascus two days earlier, walked Obama point by point through the commitments Assad had made. They included a plan to pull military assets out of cities and start a dialogue with opponents. Obama countered point by point with evidence that Assad was violating each promise. Finally, Obama told Erdogan he would continue to monitor Assad's actions and U.S. and Turkish teams would stay in contact over the next 48 hours. On August 18, Obama announced his decision. "For the sake of the Syrian people, the time has come for President Assad to step aside," he said in a written statement. The decision, five months after the rebellion began, was harder than it appeared, said White House Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes. "People always feel like it's a simple thing to call for a leader to step down. It's not. You're basically saying we're not ever going to deal with this government," Rhodes said. Nearly a year later, Assad remains in power, however precariously, and U.S. intelligence officials predict a long conflict ahead. "Early on there was recognition that this was going to be hard. This is not Libya, because of the sectarian element," said Ross, now at The Washington Institute think-tank. OLIVE BRANCH DROPPED Obama, now more actively trying to help oust Assad, began his approach to Syria with an olive branch, part of a larger presidential policy of reaching out to longtime adversaries during his first year in office. Obama sent Assad a letter in those early months talking about the potential for change in the relationship, "our being open to it, our being interested in it, but it would have to be a two-way street," a former administration official recalled. Obama talked about concerns but also the "potential to transform the relationship if he (Assad) was open to taking real steps," the former official said. Senior U.S. officials were dispatched to Damascus for talks with Syrian officials. In 2010, Obama nominated Robert Ford to be ambassador to Syria, a post that had been vacant. But then Obama discovered that while Assad talked a good game, he did not follow through. Said Djerejian: Assad as reformer "turned out to be a false image." (Additional reporting by Jeff Mason, Susan Cornwell, Arshad Mohammed, Mark Hosenball; Editing by Warren Strobel and Paul Simao) World Syria Tweet this Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/ Comments (8) carlloeber wrote: Edition: U.S. Africa Arabic Argentina Brazil Canada China France Germany India Italy Japan Latin America Mexico Russia Spain United Kingdom Back to top Reuters.com Business Markets World Politics Technology Opinion Money Pictures Videos Site Index Legal Bankruptcy Law California Legal New York Legal Securities Law Support & Contact Support Corrections Connect with Reuters Twitter Facebook LinkedIn RSS Podcast Newsletters Mobile About Privacy Policy Terms of Use AdChoices Copyright Our Flagship financial information platform incorporating Reuters Insider An ultra-low latency infrastructure for electronic trading and data distribution A connected approach to governance, risk and compliance Our next generation legal research platform Our global tax workstation Thomsonreuters.com About Thomson Reuters Investor Relations Careers Contact Us Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests. NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.

Other News on Friday, 27 July 2012
Enough blood: Milosevic allies take power in Serbia |
In shift by Egypt, president meets Hamas leader |
Guinea Bissau coup set to halve cashew production: U.N. |
No Libya solution in Cuba, but ready to talk to U.S.: Castro |
Ghana's ruling NDC to name Mahama as election candidate |
U.S. to let Myanmar import ban expire, at least temporarily |
Brazil public sector demands stymie Rousseff's cost-control push |
An Error has occured |
Google unveils ultrafast Internet/TV in Kansas City |
Apple U.S. margins for iPad about half of iPhone: filing |
Kodak, Apple patent fight to remain in bankruptcy court |
Director Todd Solondz looks for lightness in new Dark Horse |
Katie Couric aims for humanity, intelligence in TV talk show |
Warner Bros. postpones Gangster Squad movie after shooting |
Walters, Sawyer and Couric step in for 'GMA's Robin Roberts |
Insight: Cautious on Syria, Obama moves to help rebels |
Ukraine parliament to reconvene, language bill could become law |
U.S. fears Syria preparing for massacre in Aleppo |
Spanish unemployment hits record high |
More empty stomachs in North Korea as Kim plans reforms |
China dismisses case against lawyer, tiny win for rights movement |
Analysis: Fight over Islam, money and power brings violence to Volga |
China-Canada oil deal raises political hackles in Washington |
Two soldiers killed in blast in southeast Turkey |
Smartphones power record Samsung profit of $5.9 billion during Apple lull |
Far from Silicon Valley, tech industry finds an oracle |
Facebook revenue growth skids, shares plunge |
Madonna voices love for tolerant France in Paris show |
Universal Music considers bulk sale of EMI asset: FT |
Exclusive: Secret Turkish nerve center leads aid to Syria rebels |
Top Venezuelan embassy official killed in Kenya |
Polish PM appoints new agriculture minister |
Russian forces kill eight suspected militants in Dagestan |
Congo wants U.N. tasked with hunting eastern rebels |
Bulgarian opposition demands vote on nuclear plant |
Former Milosevic aide takes power in Serbia, EU uneasy |
Ukrainian minister says Tymoshenko completes medical treatment |
Facebook's value slides by $10 billion; outlook unclear |
Google admits it did not delete Street View data |
Facebook revenue growth skids, shares plunge |
Bomb joke tweeter wins landmark ruling |
Lady Gaga makes acting debut in Machete Kills |
Universal Music considers sale of EMI's Parlophone label: sources |
Greece at new risk of being pushed off euro
Bodies of missing Tenn. mom, Jo Ann Bain, and daughter found
Female Breasts Are Bigger Than Ever
AMD Trinity Accelerated Processing Units Now in Volume Production
The Avengers (2012 film), made the second biggest opening- and single-day gross of all-time
AMD to Start Production of piledriver
Ivy Bridge Quad-Core, Four-Thread Desktop CPUs
Islamists Protest Lady Gaga's Concert in Indonesia
Japan Successfully Broadcasts an 8K Signal Over the Air
ECB boosts loans to 1 trillion Euro to stop credit crunch
Egypt : Mohammed Morsi won with 52 percent
What do you call 100,000 Frenchmen with their hands up
AMD Launches AMD Embedded R-Series APU Platform
Fed Should not Ignore Emerging Market Crisis
Fed casts shadow over India, emerging markets
Why are Chinese tourists so rude? A few insights

USD EUR - 1 year graph		BlogMeter 1.01