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Assad May Succeed to Quell Syria Protests
(Ha'aretz) Zvi Bar'el - Syria seems unmoved by both Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan's remarks and by the UN Security Council, where he has the full backing of China and Russia. Their support enables Assad to continue to characterize his violent suppression of demonstrations and shooting of protesters as an "internal Syrian matter" or the work of "armed gangs." Assad is operating on the assumptions that time is not working against him, that his army will succeed in suppressing the demonstrations even if they continue for longer than anticipated, and that even if Turkey or other states sever ties with Syria, it will still be able to count on cooperation from Iraq, Iran and Russia. Another assumption is that Syria will not be subject to a Libya-style international military onslaught.