In contrast to the international and Arab response toward Qaddafi, the Arab states have hesitated to adopt an assertive stance against Assad. Yet five months and two thousand dead later, different voices are starting to emerge.
First, the joint statement by the Gulf Cooperation Council, which called for Syria to stop "the lethal oppression of its citizens," and later the Saudi King's statement, unusual for its severity, which declared that what is happening in Syria "is unacceptable to Saudi Arabia, which demands an end to the killing machine." This statement testifies to Saudi Arabia's positioning itself against the radical front led by Iran - after it previously did so in Bahrain - as it understands that the events in Syria have reached a critical level that may tip the balance against the Assad dynasty. This joins Saudi Arabia's adoption of a more assertive stance since the start of the uprisings in the Arab world and its attempt to redraw the map of regional alliances in accordance with its interests.
