"During Part I of this hearing in December 2011, a representative of the Obama administration characterized Assad as a “dead man walking.” I agreed with that assessment at the time, and I think much of it still holds true: international pressure and sanctions placed upon the Assad regime are having an unprecedented effect on its ability to fund its operations, and evidence shows that hard currency reserves are being rapidly depleted. Unfortunately, however, repeated vetoes by Russia and China of United Nations Security Council action, the overall lack of “defections” from the core of the Assad regime, and the findings of a recent visit I made to southern Turkey and Lebanon have all helped me understand that Assad still has many more political and military resources that he can call upon to continue what is literally a “death march” for months if not years to come. To force Assad to “step aside,” the United States will need to accelerate efforts from the ground up by supporting the opposition “within Syria” in concert with allies forming the “core” of the Friends of the Syrian People group of countries.”" (thanks Nicholas)