No space for freedom in Syria.

By Hani Hazaimeh and AFP

CAIRO - Arab foreign ministers (click title to entry - thank you) and Turkey agreed to a list of sweeping sanctions Sunday designed to cripple the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad who has defied pressure to halt a bloody crackdown on protests, Agence France-Presse reported.

As another 23 civilians were reported dead in Syria, the 22-member Arab League announced an immediate ban on transactions with the Syrian government and central bank and a freeze on Syrian government assets in Arab countries. Further measures, including a ban on Syrian officials visiting any Arab country and the suspension of flights, are to be implemented at a date fixed at a meeting next week.

Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh explained at a press conference following a meeting of Arab foreign ministers in Cairo that a technical committee had been formed to look into the impact the sanctions may have on Syria’s neighbours in order to ensure that they do not cause harm to these countries’ economies....

Across the board, the Arab nations are struggling with leadership and their new founded governments.  Egypt is in disarray over its elections.  There are many, many parties in Egypt with no clear direction for the country. 

It is not accurate to believe there are extremists intended to take over each Arab nation and will turn their weapons on Israel or otherwise.  I sincerely do not believe that capacity exists.  There is too much uncertainty to believe there is any form of actual goals of war at the end of the victory through peaceful protests. 

...British Foreign Secretary William Hague’s (click here) warning to Syria’s disparate opposition groups to “put aside their differences” was the diplomatic equivalent of a clip around the ear to squabbling children. Hague’s meeting this week with opposition representatives may have, in the words of the government, “intensified the U.K.’s engagement with the opposition.” In reality, it has given London a rude awakening about the caliber of Assad’s opponents.

In contrast to its approach to opponents of Moammar Gadhafi’s regime in Libya, Hague insisted the U.K. would not recognize the Syrian opposition while it remains so fractured and poorly coordinated. When you consider that the Libyan opposition was no paragon of unity, you get a good idea of how highly the British government rates the Syrian opposition....

There needs to be a dispatch of some kind to Jordan as its border with Syria is becoming porous. 

Gunfire erupts on border with Syria’ (click here)

By Taylor Luck

AMMAN - Shots rang out at the Jordanian-Syrian border late Sunday as Syrian forces attempted to prevent civilians from entering the Kingdom, hours after an Arab League decision to impose sanctions on Damascus.

Syrian soldiers opened fire on a married couple and their young child as they attempted to enter the Kingdom late yesterday near the Jaber border crossing, some 90 kilometres north of the capital, according to Minister of State for Media Affairs and Communications and Government Spokesperson Rakan Majali.

Initial reports from civilians living near the border region identified the gunfire as clashes between Syrian and Jordanian forces, a claim the spokesperson denied.

The Syrian family arrived in the Kingdom and received emergency medical attention, Majali indicated....