Introduction to the evening news 26-02-2012

A referendum and a fight for the future of Syria in the same day; Opposition figures and dissidents are facing the regime’s killing machine in a bid to bring four and a half decades of Baath party and Assad rule to a close. Meanwhile, those loyal to the regime, along with dissidents, are voting on a new constitution that allows President Assad, if he endures, to stay in power until 2028 given the article in the new constitution that stipulates the president hold office for two seven year terms. The catch is that the law would be put into effect only once the president’s current mandate runs out in 2014.      

There are no surprises expected in the course of the referendum, but a surprise did come from U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton who revealed to BBC just why the U.S. is hesitant to play the military card in Syria or provide arms to the opposition.        

Clinton said, “we have a very dangerous set of actors in the region – al Qaeda, Hamas and those that are on our terrorist list, claiming to support the opposition.”         

She added, “if you bring in automatic weapons, which you can maybe smuggle across the border- okay, but what do they do against tanks and heavy artillery? ” Secretary Clinton also believes that there is “every possibility” that Syria could descend into civil war… Outside intervention would not prevent that, it would probably expedite it.”         

In Riyadh, Foreign Minister Emir Saud al-Faisal received a letter from the Iraqi president Jalal Talibani addressed to King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz whose contents were not revealed.      

The visit took place after the announcement of appointing a Saudi ambassador in Baghdad for the first time since 1990, and after discussions conducted between a high-level Iraqi security delegation and Saudi Arabia a few days ago. These events transpired with the full knowledge that Saudi Arabia has not yet hosted Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and is dealing rather cautiously with Baghdad, which it considers under the influence of Tehran.