The report yesterday that Assad was letting in an observer force from the Arab League turned out to be bunkum; the observers will only be allowed in [NYT] if economic sanctions are suspended, among other demands the Arab League had not been previously aware of. Naturally, Assad uses the opportunity to undertake a particularly brutal crackdown. But Raghida Dergham thinks the regime is in danger of losing its Russian patron:

Vladimir Putin may have reservations on what the League of Arab States is doing, but he has no say in the matter. Indeed, the issue has left the hall of the Security Council because of Russia's defiance and the policy of obstruction adopted by the BRICs, an alliance which set itself up as the champion of the case for preserving the Syrian regime and preventing it from being changed. And if the Syrian issue is to return to the Security Council - and it will - this will be through an Arab initiative and under Arab leadership. Then the men of the Kremlin will have no choice but to dissociate themselves from the Council's resolutions, or to retract their defiance, as they do not today hold the keys to the future of Syria, as they imagine themselves to do.

Iran appears to be sticking with Damascus by pressuring Hamas to stay in Syria and getting Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah to pipe up in Assad's defense. Western companies also continue to supply Assad with Internet censoring software. The US government, however, appears to be taking a more active pro-revolution stance, sending Ambassador Robert Ford back and having Clinton meet with key opposition leaders. Meanwhile, this infant and older man were murdered in Homs: