Assad Talkin' Loud, Sayin' Nothin'

Hopes that today's presidential address would hasten reform efforts in Syria seem dashed, despite the fact that Assad recognized 'legitimate demands.'

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad blamed “saboteurs” for causing three months of protests in a speech that many had anticipated would have shown some sign of him relenting. Assad did make overtures to reform, noting that he compiled a list of 1,200 “legitimate demands” (one imagines the item at the top of that list would be “stop killing everybody”) that he plans to follow up on once the protests have subsided. Assad also suggested constitutional and electoral reform could be in the works. Meanwhile, Syrian troops are trying to contain citizens attempting to flee the country to refuge in Turkey, where the government is a little less trigger-happy.