ABSTRACT
As in other countries across the region that reacted to the catalyst in Tunisia, Syria had deeply ingrained, social and economic problems overseen by an unsympathetic, totalitarian regime. The daily struggle for survival endured by millions of Syrians was the backdrop against which the protests spreading throughout the Arab world reached Syria. In early February 2011, as anti-government protests swept through the Arab world, there was an online campaign to arrange “Days of Rage” to protest against the Assad regime. As the violence continued to escalate, the European Union and the United States responded through the imposition of a range of sanctions against the Syrian regime in general and members of Assad’s inner circle in particular. In the aftermath of the failure of the Security Council to deliver a resolution condemning the violence in Syria, alternative avenues were explored. The issue that fundamentally defined the United States approach to Syria was one of attitude to foreign policy and strategy.
