Syria Juggles Internal, External Pressures

Planned protests in Syria against the minority Baathist-Alawite regime of President Bashar al Assad largely failed to materialize April 7. This relative lull has come after two weeks of increasingly forceful crackdowns by the regime along with concessions designed to appease certain segments of the population. However, while al Assad is showing signs he will be able to ride out this political crisis, his problems are far from over. Damascus must still contend with the fact that its internal crisis has opened itself up to exploitation by outside powers.