US to Syrian groups: 'Here are some 'self-help' brochures!'

"..."One of the things we've told the opposition is that they should not think we are going to treat Syria the same way we treated Libya," Ford says. "The main thing for the opposition to do is figure out how to win away support from the regime, and not look to outsiders to try and solve the problem. This is a Syrian problem and it needs Syrian solutions."

The first step toward a Syrian solution is to organize the opposition into a united front. The recently formed Syrian National Council (SNC) aims to bring Assad's fragmented foes under a single umbrella. Last week, the influential Local Coordination Committees of Syria, a key grassroots protest group, grudgingly offered its support to the 140-member SNC despite "the way it was formed, and the forces [it] represent[s]." The group was unhappy with the number of Islamists involved in the SNC, and the process by which its members were appointed...."