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Source: http://www.brookings.edu/opinions/2012/0116_syria_shaikh.aspx?p=1
End the Farcical Arab League Mission in Syria
(Brookings Institution) Salman Shaikh - Despite Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi's assurances, the League has been negotiating with Syrian authorities - negotiations which have given them license to delay action, and buy further time for a brutal crackdown. Valuable time has been lost, and that delay - facilitated by the Arab League - has led to a more violent situation in the country. Assad's latest speeches reinforce the view that the current mission has done immense harm. What we heard was a defiant Assad who believes that standing firm is the best course of action. His confidence shows how he is dangerously out of touch with the reality in his country, and unfortunately, so is the Arab League mission. The writer is director of the Brookings Doha Center.