The Arab Awakening has prompted popular uprisings around the Middle East, including in Syria, where protests have turned violent as government troops quash civilian dissent.
The Syrian government has been been condemned widely by countries including the United States. Turkey and Iran have both called on the Syrian government to end its crackdown.
The Baker Institute has been providing timely analysis of the events in the Middle East and the ramifications for U.S. policy. Baker Institute founding director Edward P. Djerejian, who previously was U.S. ambassador to Syria, does not see the situation in Syria resolving any time soon.
In a Sept. 15, 2011, interview with the newspaper Al-Hayat, he is quoted as saying:
"Unless there is a catalytic event that changes the situation on the ground between the regime and the opposition forces in Syria, I fear that there will be a prolonged and tragic confrontation in the near term with no victors or vanquished. The Syrian regime has made it clear that it will implement reforms only on its own terms and on its own timetable and that it will use lethal force against its own people who, in popular uprisings and demonstrations, are demanding structural political, social and economic change akin to the Arab Awakening in the region."
