US Official: "We're getting close," on the question of challenging Assad's legitimacy

(AP) -WASHINGTON — "... Administration officials said Tuesday that the first step would be to say for the first time that President Bashar Assad has forfeited his legitimacy to rule, a major policy shift that would amount to a call for regime change that has questionable support in the world community.... directly challenging Assad's leadership is a decision fraught with problems: Arab countries are divided, Europe is still trying to gauge its response, and there are major doubts over how far the United States could go to back up its words with action.
Two administration officials said the U.S. worries about a prevailing perception that its response to Assad's repression has been too soft,..."We're getting close," one official said on the question of challenging Assad's legitimacy, adding that such a step would oblige the U.S. and, if other countries agree, the international community, to act... The officials said the administration may decide to target Assad, although American sanctions against him likely would mean little as the United States has long had unrelated restrictions on Syria because of its designation as a "state sponsor of terrorism."