“The future of Syria must be determined by its people, but President Bashar al-Assad is standing in their way.  We have consistently said that President Assad must lead a democratic transition or get out of the way.  He has not led.  For the sake of the Syrian people, the time has come for President Assad to step aside.”-President Barack Obama, written statement.

“Our three countries believe that President Assad, who is resorting to brutal military force against his own people and who is responsible for the situation, has lost all legitimacy and can no longer claim to lead the country.”-joint statement from British Prime Minister David Cameron, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel

“I join with (U.S.) President Obama and other members of the international community in calling on President Assad to vacate his position, relinquish power and step down immediately.”-Stephen Harper, Canadian Prime Minister

Syria is “…a proxy for Iran, a supporter of terror, and a threat to United States interests and our allies in the region.”-Eric Cantor, U.S. House Majority Leader

All these statements were made after President Assad announced an end to the crackdown on the insurgency.  He also invited the United Nations to investigate claims of human rights abuses, however, U.S. officials, and the U.S. media are reporting that some how the UN already conducted an investigation and found Assad guilty.  That was fast!

Major oil pipelines run through Syria, from Iraq and Iran to Turkey, Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea.  90% of the oil goes to Europe.  Remember, we’re attacking Libya, and the majority of Libyan oil goes to Europe, in fact almost all of Italy’s oil supplies come from Libya.

It’s really starting to look like Europe, with the help of the United States, is trying to save its sorry economic ass by taking direct control of their major suppliers of oil.