Reports: Obama Poised to Demand Syria Regime Change

Move Likely to Mean Escalating Sanctions, Growing Threats

As public protests continue across Syria, a number of reports are indicating that the Obama Administration is on the verge of demanding “regime change” in the nation. The move would be aimed at echoing those in Libya.

The change in position would be prompted by complaints that the president is being “soft” on Syria, and in the wake of a round of EU sanctions against Syria. Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman has also demanded the US take a more hostile position toward Syria.

Exactly what this would mean is unclear. In the near term it would likely mean more sanctions against Syria, which probably means little given the broad anti-Syria sanctions already in place. But echoing Libya might also mean a pretext for another major war.

And while this would be presented as “consistent” with the US policies of regime change in Libya and Egypt, it would also make the split all the more apparent, as the US has largely ignored similar crackdowns in Yemen and Bahrain, two key allies.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.