The Daily Star Editorial

Syria finds itself facing the latest “deadline” in a string of deadlines that have come and gone, to end eight months of violent repression of civilian protests.
The latest warning materialized in Morocco, where Arab foreign ministers met and said President Bashar Assad had three days to halt the bloodshed or face further sanctions. Meanwhile, Turkish and Arab officials, also meeting in the North African country, said they opposed the option of foreign intervention in the Syrian crisis, while adding that the time had come for “urgent measures” to be taken.

The rhetoric has certainly heated up, as Syria’s neighbors and fellow Arab states debate what can be done.
But when Qatar’s prime minister, Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem al-Thani, commented on the latest Arab position, he attempted to side-step the question of whether it was a “last chance” for Damascus.

“We are almost at the end of the line,” he commented. “I don’t want to speak about last chances so [the regime] doesn’t think it is being given an ultimatum.”
The question remains: Does the word “deadline” have any meaning when it comes to the outside world’s stance on the Syria crisis?

Ruling out military intervention will no doubt please Damascus, which is claiming that any action by the outside world represents a threat to sovereignty. But the prospect of sanctions by the Arab League doesn’t necessarily point to a smooth resolution. Financial and economic sanctions have had an impact on Syrian leaders, but such measures have led to their retrenchment, and not a desire to move events in another direction.

Neighbors such as Turkey and Jordan have taken increasingly hard-line stances on the Syrian crisis, while a host of countries have seen their diplomatic missions and embassies stormed by mobs in Syria. The Syrian authorities appear unconcerned with halting such mayhem, or repairing their country’s image abroad.

The Arab League is also demanding that Syria accept the presence of 500 observers to ensure that Damascus actually implements its announced commitments. But the fact that the Arab League continues to demand written guarantees about the safety of such a mission raises serious questions about whether such a plan will ever get off the ground.

The credibility of Syrian leaders is at an all-time low, but not much can be said for the credibility of those who say they are pressing for a solution. Deadline after deadline has been extended to the authorities in Damascus, but no one appears ready to say a “final” ultimatum is at hand. The Syrians have repeatedly pledged to implement reforms and adhere to the Arab League initiative, but again, with little to nothing in the way of results.
For now, the only certainty is that as the words continue to flow, the only thing changing is the body count in Syria.