Bashar Al-Assad

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Supporters of Syrian President Bashar Assad shout slogans and wave their national flag, as they protest to show their solidarity to their president, in Damascus, Syria, on Friday Aug. 19, 2011. Assad, who inherited power from his father in 2000, is facing the most serious international isolation of his rule. On Thursday, the United States and its European allies demanded he step down. Syrian security forces killed at least 20 protesters Friday despite promises by President Bashar Assad that the military operations against the 5-month-old uprising are over. (AP Photo/Muzaffar Salman)

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In this image taken on a cellphone by a citizen journalist and provided by Shaam News Network, protesters against the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad hold up an Arabic banner reading, "Enough killing, will not bow," during a demonstration in the village of Maarat Harma in northern Syria's Edlib province on Friday, Aug. 12, 2011. (AP Photo/Shaam News Network)

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Lebanese intellectuals and journalists protest during a vigil sit-in to show their support to the Syrian protesters who demonstrate against the Syrian President Bashar Assad, at the Martyrs square, in downtown of Beirut, Lebanon, on Monday, Aug. 8, 2011. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

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A Syrian demonstrating in Cairo on Friday, Aug. 5, 2011, holds up a poster with an image of Syrian President Bashar Assad during a protest against the leader's regime. (AP Photo/Tara Todras-Whitehill)

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In this photo released by the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA), Syrian pro-government demonstrators carry national flags along with pictures of Syrian President Bashar Assad during a rally in the border town of Quneitra, about 40 miles south of Damascus, Syria, on Monday, July 18, 2011. (AP Photo/SANA)

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Syrians carry national flags and a picture of Syrian President Bashar Assad as they protest in support of him at the Umayyad Square in downtown Damascus, Syria, on July 17, 2011. (Associated Press)

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** FILE ** In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA and according to them, thousands of supporters of Syrian President Bashar Assad, carry a gigantic 17,500 yards (16,000 meters) Syrian flag during a pro-Assad demonstration, in the Mediterranean city of Latakia, northewest of Damascus, Syria, on Sunday, July 10, 2011. (AP Photo/SANA)

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In this photo released by the official Syrian news agency, supporters of embattled Syrian President Bashar Assad hoist pictures of him along with national flags during a rally in the northern city of Aleppo, Syria, on Tuesday. (Associated Press)

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Pro-Syrian President Bashar Assad protesters hold up a poster of him (shown far right) during a demonstration to show their support in Damascus, Syria, on Friday, July 1, 2011. Hundreds of thousands of protesters flooded cities around Syria on Friday in one of the largest outpourings against the regime of Assad. (AP Photo/Muzaffar Salman)

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Syrian troops watch the Turkey-Syria border from their hilltop vantage point. Their military vehicle bears a poster of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Writing on the wall under windows translates to "Only Allah and Bashar's Syria - Nothing else." (Associated Press)

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Syrian soldiers on board a helicopter carry a national flag and a picture of Syrian President Bashar Assad during a rally in support of Assad in Damascus, Syria, on June 21, 2011. (Associated Press)

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Children hold a handmade Syrian flag during a protest against President Bashar Assad's speech in a refugee camp across the border in Yayladagi, Turkey. Mr. Assad said Monday that his regime would consider political reforms, but opponents said his words lacked any clear sign of a transition to democracy. (Associated Press)

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Syrian citizens in Damascus watch television as President Bashar Assad delivers a speech on Monday. (Associated Press)

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Syrian President Bashar Assad said Monday his regime would consider political reforms, including ending his Baath Party's monopoly in politics, but thousands of enraged protesters accused him of clinging to power and took to the streets shouting, "Liar!" (Associated Press)

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Demonstrators shout slogans in support of Syrian President Bashar Assad in Damascus, Syria, on Monday, June 20, 2011. (AP Photo/Muzaffar Salman)

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Syrian protesters carry national flags as they shout slogans against President Bashar Assad in front of the Syrian Embassy in Cairo on Tuesday, June 7, 2011. Syria's army has carried out days of deadly assaults to crush protesters calling for the end of Mr. Assad's rule. (AP Photo)

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Syrian protesters carry national flags during a rally near the Syrian Embassy in Amman, Jordan, on Wednesday, June 1, 2011, as they demand that Syrian President Bashar Assad step down. (AP Photo/Nader Daoud)

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Opponents of the Syrian regime gathered on Turkey's Mediterranean coastal city of Antalya, on June 1, 2011, for a conference aimed at overcoming their differences and bolstering protesters who have endured a bloody crackdown under President Bashar Assad. (Associated Press)

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Syrians walk past a T-shirt with a portrait of Syrian President Bashar Assad with Arabic wording that reads "we love you" at a popular market in downtown Damascus, Syria, on May 30, 2011. (Associated Press)

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'CRISIS' ENDING: Syrian President Bashar Assad acknowledged that his security forces made mistakes in the crackdown against protesters but suggested that the current crisis was nearing a conclusion. (Associated Press)