US Sharpens Criticism of Syria’s Assad

April 26, 2011

Protesters gather during a demonstration in the Syrian port city of Banias, as forces deployed around the small coastal city for a possible attack, a rights campaigner in contact with Banias said, April 26, 2011

Officials here stop short of saying that Assad has lost his legitimacy to rule. They are ratcheting up their criticism of the Syrian leader, however, amid reports that the death toll in 40 days of protests against the Damascus government may now exceed 400.

In a talk with reporters, the State Department’s Director of Policy Planning Jake Sullivan called the Syrian government's crackdown "brutal and reprehensible" - and said it must respect and adhere to universal rights of freedom of speech and assembly.

He said Assad, who the Obama administration originally hoped would be a dialogue partner on Middle East peacemaking, has clearly taken the wrong path in dealing with the country’s worst political crisis in decades.

"President Assad is on the wrong track and that he has to change course," said Sullivan. "We have also made the case that the actions he’s undertaking are not consistent with the actions of a responsible government. And we will continue to make that case publicly, and we will make it privately to the Syrians, as Assistant Secretary Feltman has done, as Ambassador Ford has done, and as we have done through statements going up to, and including, the President of the United States."