Assad puts end to Arab Spring

The Syrian president's brutal treatment of his people could spell the end of the Arab Spring, the liberal daily La Stampa fears: "The time has been cleverly chosen. The attention of the international community is focused elsewhere. US President Obama has been left weakened by the danger of state bankruptcy. ... Turkish Prime Minister Erdoğan, whom the West entrusted with the task of admonishing the hot-blooded Assad brothers every now and then, is embroiled in a conflict with his generals who jointly resigned on Friday. And in Cairo the trial against [ex-president] Mubarak is due to begin in two days' time. ... This could officially put the Tahrir Square revolution in the hands of the Muslim Brothers. ... Bashar al-Assad knows that this is the right moment. He no doubt wants a place in the history books too. If he manages to suppress the revolt in Syria Damascus will legitimately be able to claim to have put an end in the autumn to the revolutions that began in the spring."

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