WH: Syria’s Assad must go as soon as possible

The sooner Syrian President Bashar al-Assad cedes power in the country the better the chances that a bloody sectarian war will be avoided, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said. “The chance that there would be a bloody sectarian war will be diminished if Assad removes himself from power or is no longer in power,” Carney said at a news briefing on Monday. He said the United States together with its international partners is focused on preparing for a political transition in Syria. “It is essential that the world community come together and unify to pressure Assad and isolate Assad and help precipitate a situation where that political transition can take place,” Carney said. According to UN estimates, about 10,000 people have been killed in Syria since the beginning of a popular uprising against President Bashar al-Assad in March 2011, which started with peaceful protests but has since grown increasingly militarized. Carney also reiterated that Russia’s participation in a process that would lead to a political transition in Syria was very important. Russia has twice – along with China - vetoed UN resolutions against Damascus over what it calls a pro-rebel bias, but has, however, fully backed [UN envoy] Kofi Annan’s six-point plan, which calls for the withdrawal of heavy weaponry from urban areas and a ceasefire to end 15-months of spiraling violence there. “History will judge those who supported Assad and continue to support Assad accordingly, and that's why it's so important for the world to unify behind the plan -- a plan that would bring about political transition,” Carney said. Moscow has repeatedly denied that it is protecting Assad or that it has any special interests in Syria, but would not allow a repeat of the “Libyan scenario” in another country.