>> in your comments, at least the hand was that we need to will buckle up and get ready for the long haul. is that the results of the assessment that the people will have a difficult time, the they are essentially on armed in their attempt to overthrow the government? -- essentially unarmed in their attempt to overthrow the government? >> part of this is based on my own awareness, predictions of what will happen in the arab world do not always pan out. there is the question of the unarmed protests. it is incredibly courageous what these syrian opposition

figures, these protesters are doing every day. they are facing incredible brutality from a government that is basically a family-led mafia that has hijacked the state. if they come out every day, day in and day out. they're more demonstrations now than in the beginning of this. they are in every town, every city across syria. but what assad is trying to do is turn this peaceful movement into an insurgency. what confounds him is this phenomenon of protesters yelling "peaceful" and shopkeepers closing their shops in solidarity with the protesters. despite the tremendous obstacles they're facing, the key to the principles that they

subscribe. -- they keep to the principles that they subscribe to. we think it would frighten the minority if it becomes a large movement. it would lead them to believe that the chaos after assad would come true. none of us question the desire by the syrians to exercise in self defense against the kind of retaliation they are facing. but right now, their strength is in the peaceful protest. they then i'm sure -- they deny mushar. ability tohr the

>> how long can they hold up? >> i do not know. it is one of the reasons why i think that the arab leaders have started taking such an active role because they do not want them to see him destroy syria. he cannot last when you have the kind of isolation that was described. when you see the pariah he has become. but he can certainly cause more deaths and cause a lot more damage. the best thing for him to do would be to exit the scene and that is what we're trying to find a way to do. >> how would you compare the sanctions we have in place on syria to the sanctions we have in place on iran on a scale of one to 10 so we can get a feel of how they match each other?

>> in both cases, we have imposed comprehensive, broad measures to isolate the regime. i would say there comparable. >> how about comparing those to what we did in libya when the chaos started there. is it comparable to what we did there? >> also comparable period in libya, an important distinction is that the -- also comparable. the action in libya was accompanied by action globally, which magnified the impact in libya greatly. in syria and iran, we're trying to create a broad and comprehensive coalition. >> i am not asking for anything classified, but what can you tell us about your expectations? year after year, we have all

seen sanctions on iran, for instance. the regime seems to be able to withstand a whole lot of pain in order to hang onto power. how do you assess where we are headed in syria as far as the regime's ability to survive just as iran is? >> i would hesitate to speculate on a specific time line, but i would say that there are clear indications that their financial resources are strained. they are in dire straits. their revenues have been dramatically -- not only because of the action against their energy sector, but the impact of tourism industry in syria as a result of the violence. they have seen a dramatic drop in revenue. it is clear that they're having to draw down their foreign- exchange reserves much more rapidly than they would like. >> thank you. >> senator boxer.

>> thank you. thank you for holding this important hearing. it really is a moment in time that we need to be heard. i hope that some of our voices will still be heard by the people of syria who are risking their lives every single day to just keep on keeping non, this battle that they are in. in a show of its two colors, president assad has responded with a vicious force rather than respecting the voices of the syrian people. the un estimates that more than 3500 people have already lost their lives and thousands more injured and imprisoned and forced to flee. the syrian government has ordered syrian troops to fire on their own communities, orchestrated the torture of prisoners, some only children. in august, president obama rightfully said that, for the

sake of the syrian people, the time has come for president decides to step aside. -- president assad to step aside. i had teamed up with senator demint to call for these sanctions, preventing all transactions between america and the government to syria and banning the importation of syrian petroleum. then the eu band the import of petroleum. since they buy 90% of all syrian oil, that is a big deal. unfortunately, other members of the international community have failed to stand up against president assad's abuses. it is my understanding that despite vigorous measures, there have been unable -- according to the news reports,

russia led the opposition. susan rice found -- i guess my question is did you speak to russia's opposition to any condemnation of the assad regime? is it that they want to sell weapons? is there something more we can do? what is your take on it? >> thank you for the question. i will have to defer to my european -- the bureau of european affairs. what i can say, talking about serious, what the russians say

is that they want a peaceful solution. fine. we want a peaceful solution. the russians said that they want the rest -- the violence to stop. fine, we wanted to stop. i would say that, for the purpose of this argument, let's take the russians at their word, but they are sincere. therefore, they should join us in allowing monitors, allowing media into the country. if they still pretend to believe assad's lies of that he is fighting bandits and terrorists, let the monitors in. the monitors can report that and tell the world what is actually happening if they are bandits and terrorists, the media will show that. i do not believe the russians will be able to sustain their opposition to the syrian people indefinitely. >> i hear you.

let me just say -- this is key. i would hope that we could all work together to craft some kind of message to the russians. this is critical. they are taking the lead on blocking any type of resolution. i have the second point i want to make. according to an amnesty international report, the syrian authorities "have turned hospitals and medical staff into instruments of repression in the course of their efforts to crush the unprecedented mass protests and demonstrations. people wounded in protests or other incidents related to the uprising have been verbally abuse, physically assaulted in a state run hospitals. including by medical staff and in some cases denied medical care. the report cites expenses from a number of wounded protesters, including one shooting victim who said that a doctor at a state-run hospital told him, "i will not clean your wound.

i am waiting for your foot to rot so we can cut it off." that is supposedly a quote from a doctor. this is what it doctor said to a young protester. "i remember hearing shrieks of pain," said the doctor, "so i walked to the voice and i saw a nurse soaring at a boy and his entry as she poured antiseptic on the injury that was intended to add additional pain." what can you tell us about the denial of care to the injured protesters? in light of this, why have we not been able to use this to

turn around the policies of russia and china? >> senator, it is mixed. because the media is not allowed, because there are restrictions on diplomats, we get a lot of information, but it could be very detailed in one area and very sketchy and other details. it is a very mixed picture. but it does provide enough of a vision of what is happening in syria to confirm some of these terrific stories that you describe. i am sure that amnesty was able to get eyewitness reports. the information is getting out, despite the syrian best efforts to operate in doctors' -- operate in darkness, to operate in the shadows.

how affective they are able to be in the medical sides, i do not know. they work very quietly and that is thinner goal. how is it that the syrians can be so courageous? day after day, they go out and protests appeared in a white family, friends, neighbors who have faced this kind of retaliation and they do not want to face it anymore. they are facing a regime that has hijacked the country with the sole purpose of just protecting the elite of that regime. >> thank you very much. again, i will not ask you to answer the last point, but i hope we will take this to the russians and the chinese. >> thank you. senator lugar. >> i would like to focus on some of the comments you made on the international aspects of this, specifically with the

international aspects with the neighbors. turkey now harbors a group of resistants. but the lebanese appeared to be very worried about an upset of their domestic situation spilling over. they fear the coming of a suny regime -- a sunni regime if the likes of syria cannot hang on. the problem that is faced by israel, the israelis have expressed that they feel that syria was never a friend, but it was stable, a stable antagonist that was not bound to bring about attack. in the midst of all this, the

united states, understandably, is concentrating upon the human rights dilemmas of individuals who want their rights in the country. it has been noted by some of our staff members in the largest cities that there have been very few demonstrations. but in the hustings, there has been. this leads once again to feelings about sectarianism. mr. maliki worried that somehow, if the sunnis come out

on top in this situation, it would be difficult for iraq. that would compound the situation as we withdraw. as you try to formulate policy, surely all of these things are on your mind. on the one hand, you have each of us wanting to do something to say people who are in the streets, indicating they would liked to have civil rights. on the other hand, it could very well be that, as we demand the departure of assad, we tip the scales on this sunni business. given the air of spring and the

current volatile situation and all sorts of other implications, under those circumstances, what is the policy we should adopt that tries to bring a degree of stability to the situation, even as we promote human rights, continued to espouse those things that we believe our most important? or will we be a tipping force of demanding action by the un or demanding action by sanctions of various sorts? already, the economy of syria appears to have -- not drying up, but lost its oil. we have already had an effect. how much of an effect do we want to have? what happens to all of the surrounding territories if assad left?

>> you are right that these play into all our thinking in syria policy all the time. a couple of basic assumptions we have is that -- what worries the lebanese is instability next door and how it will spill over. what worries the iraqis is the same thing. what worries the israelis is a variation of the same thing. the president has been clear, as the chairman was earlier, that is time for bushar to step aside. he is causing the instability that worries the neighbors. he has gone past the tipping point, past the point of no return. the neighbors no longer look at him as the devil you know. they are recognizing with increasing vehemence that he is the cause of the instability of

the most -- worries -- the cause of the instability that most worries them. >> who will step in if he goes and the opposition in syria is still divided. we think that what more unites them than divides them is the talk about the need for assad to go and the need for a more secular future where serious have equal rights under the law. but there is still a big organizational divisions. it is one of the things -- in our discussions, we meet with figures with the international council and talking about having to be able to articulate a credible plan, a credible vision that is practical, that shows people who are worried about what happens afterward, that you have a plan that is practical and and lamentable --

that is implementable. and is with the consent of those covered. in starting to do this, there has been some division tapirs put out, certain speeches given, but there is still a long way to go. >> during this long way to go, life goes on in syria as well as around. what i am interested in is the potential for chaos, the lack of people who have not formulated the new plans and have not come together at this point. >> you are right to be concerned, senator. right now, the impending chaos is happening because of what bushar is doing to his own people. there needs to be an end to the violence and an opposition that is inclusive, that is able to articulate a positive plan going forward.

>> thank you. >> senator shaheen. >> thank you for holding this hearing. i wanted to begin by commenting on your points about ambassador ford and the great work he has done in syria and commend him for that. i know all of us very much appreciate his courage and his working with the opposition. we certainly hope he will be back there very soon. >> thank you. >> can you talk about the current relationship between iran and syria and how iran is playing into what is going on there right now? are they supporting assad? and to what extent? has about -- how does violence affect their view of what is going on?

>> it is a very interesting topic. the short answer is yes. iran is certainly helping bushar. they are providing expertise, technical assistance to do bad things. they are providing equipment by which they can monitor opposition activity on the internet and stuff like that. as my colleague mentioned, the irgc sanctioned one of the executive orders this year, but at the same time iran embarrassed. uc iranian leaders talking about the need to end violence in syria, the need for reform. this is completely cynical on their part because they do just as bad things to their own people. but it suggests to us that the iranian leadership recognizes that they want credibility

across the arab world because of their support for this brutal dictator and that he might not survive and they have to start positioning themselves for the day after bushar. iran is in an interesting bond right now. they want to support him without losing their credibility in the arab world also tried to signal to the syrian people that, while we know he will lots of drive and we know that -- he will not survive and we know that he shouldn't be doing this to you. >> do we know about -- is there information how the iranian people feel about their government support for assad and what is happening there? >> i am not really sure. i have not seen polling on that. but i will use your question the pullout something else that is interesting, error of polling. the has been enough over the years -- arab polling. there has been enough over the years to see.

they were asked who is the arab leader outside your own country who you most admire? bushar had overwhelmingly come out on top. now that poll comes out and his numbers are rock-bottom. in morocco, 15% think he might survive. in egypt, it is 14%. everywhere else, it is single digits. this is insolence the arab leadership. they have woken up to having to temper their public opinion. they are playing a much stronger role on syria than they would have a year ago.

>> that does make sense. given the arab league effort to try to reduce the violence in syria, is there any belief that, if the violence continues that the arab league will take any action? will they sanction assad and the regime? is there any further effort that they think they might undertake? >> i mentioned this in my opening statement. syria is considered to be an important part in the arab world for political reasons and historic reasons. it is a heavyweight in the arab world. arab leaders are trying to show that they can deal with a problem in their own backyard. they can deal with this rather than have to turn to the outside world to solve everything.

it would be an embarrassment for them to do something to protect the syrian people at this point. when i spoke with the arab foreign ministers, there are a lot of ideas pig we're talking about perhaps they could asked -- a lot of ideas. they are talking about perhaps they could ask the united nations. perhaps the leader of syria has lied to them. his days are numbered. i look at the contrast to a year ago where he was lent an airplane to fly around the world and now cotter is heading of the committee that is trying to find ways to take action in light of bushar's refusal to commiserate with the arab -- the arab league has a lot of divisions inside it.

i do not know what they can produce. in n.m. -- in a very important way, their own population is now on the line. >> to follow along with respect to turkey, in about 40 seconds that i have left, turkey obviously has made some strong statements condemning assad and the actions and violence in syria. are they prepared to undertake any sanctions against assad? economic or others? >> i think it is hard to overstate turkeys break with syria. -- turkey's break with syria. we have seen remarks suggesting that they are considering

additional measures, possibly including financial sanctions. we would welcome any such measures. also, we will engage with them to encourage them to do so. >> are we already engaging with turkey to encourage them? >> yes. >> thank you. >> senator rubio. >> clearly, their ambitions in the region are known and they are counter to our international interests and the safety of the world. i do not think that stevens needs to be made any further. but you can elaborate a little bit more on how strategically since it is to iran, economically and to their military aspirations and the land bridge to the region.

>> syria is essential to the extremely negative role that iran has been able to play in the region. take hezbollah. the transit routes for hezbollah is via syria. they use it to undermine the state of lebanon and destabilize the region. it comes via syria. syria is basically iran's only friend. iran is syria's best friend. in fact, it is one of serious -- it is serious only remaining friend. i do nothing -- it is syria's only remaining friend. there attended be a few misguided lebanese politicians.

what is happening on the ground in syria is important. our embassy reports that demonstrations on syria have, among other demands, an anti- hezbollah and anti-iran flavor to them. they know who is providing the assistance to their government to kill them, arrest them, and torture them. they know that it is from iran and hezbollah. that means that a change that comes about with the consent of the people will not be the asset for iran that syria is today. it is not in their strategic interest to see that this change takes quickly.

there has been mixed press reports for what the iraqis think and what is happening in syria and they are concerned by the instability. but iraq suffered grievously from what this regime did to them. the syrian regime facilitated, allowed syrian territory and airport for terrorists to get into iraq and blowup thousands of iraqis and our servicemen. it would help iraq to have a difference syria next door. >> the goal of limiting and containing an defeating iranian ambitions for the region in the world, the loss of the assad regime would be a devastating blow. would that be accurate? >> yes.

people talk about there could be another sort of assad in a palace coup inside. the government that comes in with the consent of the people would not be a friend to iran. >> is the regime were to fall, they would be left with another form of radical government or religious minorities -- is their concern about that? what progress, whether it is the syrian national council or others, what is the potential for that to be lessened? >> it is a concern of everyone, including the opposition themselves.

syria is one people. they're trying to show in practice that they recognize that the syrian national identity is composed of many diverse ethnic groups, etc. you do see al whites -- aloites, christians, muslims. the country is still heavily sunni. but it needs to continue to articulate why is that bushar's predictions of what happens after he leaves is wrong. they will have a proper role to play. the burden is on the syrian

opposition. based on our own conversations with the minority groups, i do not think there are any illusions about bushar. they have seen him as a source of stability and they now believe that he is driving the country to ruin. >> i read the many sections we have placed around the world. -- sanctions. but there has been a flight from damascus to damascus -- to to time. evading any of these sanctions?

>> i cannot speak to any specific examples of financial support. clearly, the assad regime is looking for alternatives around the world. they have not found much success to date. >> as of now, we have not found any willing open participants in efforts to undermine our efforts for the nation's efforts to aid than iran. >> i cannot speak directly to any specific forms of financial support. with respect to finding markets that might replace what they lost when they lost the european oil market, that is correct. they have not found anything what they have lost. >> thank you. >> senator durbin to request that you for allowing me to-- senator durbin. attend this subcommittee.

i may not be a formal member. i had a meeting with a large group of muslim americans in chicago of syrian descent. naturally, they're following this very closely and are very concerned about it. they asked several questions that i will ask. they want to know whether or not the sanctions we imposed have gone far enough? several things that they asked about and i said i would follow through is, one of which is whether we are targeting lebanese banks involved in syria and whether or not we have expanded our sanctions regime where we are currently targeting oil exports to include other elements of the oil and energy sector of the expiration, production, and transport? >> to the question of lebanese financial sector, we have designated one lebanese financial institution.

commercial bank. oure really engaged with counterparts in lebanon to stress the importance of remaining vigilant and not to be exploited by the regime or the regime insiders. after an action that we took over this year, making a 311 finding against a lebanese canadian banking group, we continue to engage barry regularly with lebanese counterpart. -- very regularly. sanctions pursuant to the suggestion to go beyond oil exports into other aspects of

the oil energy sector? >> our sections currently already do prohibit any new -- any investment in the syrian oil sector. they prohibit all transactions between u.s. persons and the government of syria and the europeans have taken a similar action as well. >> that is good to know. why are we not pursuing that the -- at the un security council for the referral of assad to the international criminal court? can you tell me? >> ambassador rice and her team in new yorker actively looking to see how we can use the un system in the best way to first of all raise attention to what is actually happening in syria and try to find ways to stop the violence. we are looking for support with

russia and china to see if we can get a security council resolution on syria. we're also working with european and other partners to call for the types of human rights monitors that would give some protection to the syrian people. there have been special sessions where we have helped the u.n. human rights council. we are looking at all the ways that the un system could help us achieve that goal of stopping violence and moving toward a democratic transition. >> i applaud what the administration has done through ambassador rice. the vote in october at least forced nations to stand up and vote. even though it failed. the question i am asking, since

the arab league has intervened and that effort has clearly sailed, why are we not following up again with the un security council, directly with the efforts of the international criminal court toward mr. assad. >> since we are not members, i would look to the lead of others. but this is an option we're pursuing. in the security council. we are looking for the right time. we hope that something will come out of the arab league on saturday with those on the security council who did not let the security -- but the resolution passed the last time. this is a matter that the u.n. security council should be dealing with. we would hope that russia and china, in looking at how the assad clique has refused all attempts of mediation for mothers would now realize that -- from others.

it is time for the security council to act >> i follow through a little bit on this effort -- on the question of the u.s. security council. one can certainly come up with a rationale for the russians that may have something to do with arms sales, a rationale for the chinese position which is fairly consistent with their foreign policy. but i really struggled with brazil, india, and south africa. i asked the ambassador to come in my office and talk about the indian position on this. and she said to me when i think others have said and i would like to comment on it. she believes there is evidence, which she told me that there is evidence, that the opposition in syria is armed and violent. i have not heard that, not from any credible source. have you? >> there are increasing incidence of the opposition using arms, purely as self- defense as anyone can understand. but the large portion of the

movement is still peaceful. but the push a forssa -- but the push for assad is to have the protesters seen as highly violence so he can justify himself to the rest of the world. thank you for meeting with the indian ambassador. that is a welcome initiative. we have been talking with them as well. what the arab league is trying to do, what the u.n. human rights council is trying to do is to get monitors in the country. if there are terrorists in the country, they will either stop attacking so they do not reveal their actions or they will be revealed by these monitors. we think it would also put a check on the brutality of the assad and click on his own people. they can use their own arguments to get themselves to

the point of supporting security council resolutions. told you, if she truly believes that, she should not be frightened to have monitors their. >> i think that is a constructive suggestion. i hope that my colleagues on the committee can join me in inviting the investors from -- ambassadors from stymieing the efforts of the national sick -- the international security council. they are hysterically friends. -- many of these are historical our friends like south africa and india. it would seem to me to be valuable to note that we see their opposition and would like some explanation. thank you. >> we will go for a second round. i want to raise at least two or three more points. i wanted to raise with you the question about an article in "the wall street journal" dated october 29 of this year.

the title of the article is "u.s. firm enologist syria -- "u.s. firm acknowledges syria using -- a u.s. company making blocking gear recognizes syria using something there. -- uses its gear to block the web. it >> down on its citizens and solaces there online -- it cracks down on its citizens and silences their online activity. bluecoat systems of sunnyvale, calif. --they sent their product to do by thinking that it was on the way to a partner of the iraqi government. the way it can block websites or records of people visit them made its way to syria, a country subject to strict u.s.

trade embargoes. bluecoat told "the wall street journal" but there were transmitting messages back to the company. it does not monitor where such "are p" messages -- "heartbeat" messages derive from. it goes on from there. i know you and your team are familiar with this. i am putting you on the spot, but if you have an answer, we would like to hear today. has this company, bluecoat systems inc., violated the u.s. trade embargo? that is the first question. >> our export control regime is administered by the commerce department. i would have to refer you to the commerce department for specifics in this particular instance.

quirks i do not know if you haven't -- >> i do not know if you have an answer or a comment. >> the department of commerce is looking into this very specific case. since the export controls were put in place in 2004, any such items like this that would be exported to syria would required a case-by-case examination. there was no license issued for this. the department of commerce is investigating it. i would refer to them on the state of the investigation. >> for the record, just so we're clear, i would suggest the administration to make sure that an answer is forthcoming, whether it comes from the commerce department or other agency the answer would emanate. it is not to point fingers at

other countries and impose sanctions that are far away. we need to make sure that our government, our companies are doing the right thing in terms of syria. i want to ask a broader question that has been referred to a number of us. i know that both of you have spoken to the issue of sanctions. in fact, there is a recent crs report that outlines -- i am looking at a report that is rather recent. but the last two pages of this report -- they put forth a table for the listed all of the sanctions and the individual sanctions.

how would you assess the success or impact of sanctions to date, both u.s. and others? what, if anything, can you tell us is forthcoming by way of sanctions? i have some ideas of who should be sanctioned, but i first want to hear your current assessment of where we are and where we could be headed with additional sanctions. that is for both of our witnesses. >> first, with respect to the impact of sanctions, syria has for a long time been among the more sanctioned countries. the ties between the syrian and the u.s. financial system were limited. our actions have been comprehensive and aggressive, but there is only so much can do unilaterally. the significance of what has

been done is that we are in concert with the europeans in particular. and the european actions have been dramatic. the impact has been profound >> was particularly oil? -- mostly because of oil per>> message because of oil. i do not want to diminish the importance of the symbolic nature of the actions as well. by highlighting the activity of those complicity in the human rights abuses and by highlighting the syrian business community who supports the assad regime, we send an important message to the protesters on the streets of syria that we stand by them and we also send an important message to the business community, an important constituency, the there are severe costs when a seceding to closely with assad. -- to associating too closely with>> i am getting this from a couple places, including your testimony.

you say in your testimony that the assad regime generated one- third of its revenue from the oil sector and that that has been effectively eliminated. >> that is correct. >> it is worth noting the contrast between today and not too far in the past. only recently, europe was looking at an association agreement with syria. it was in an advanced stage of agreements, with trade and all sorts of other things. today, they have sanctioned syria. they have sanctioned syrian banks. the syrians have not been able to find other customers.

with the other subjects we have talked about, it is worth remembering where we were not very long ago and where we are today, which helps to give us a sense of inevitability that basically bushar is finished. >> this is a tough one to answer. sanctions as it relates to turkey, why do you think they have not taken that step? can they? will they? >> i do not know. all of us have been caught in discussions with the turkish officials, as have our bosses, a cabinet level in the white house with the turks. they have played an important role. they have played an essential role. in terms of providing space for the operation. the embargo they put in place -- opposition has had an impact on the regime's ability. in practice, much of the

economic ties between the two countries has already dried up, just as a matter of course. we would like to see them take additional steps of action, putting in some legal sanctions that parallel the sanctions that the eu, the united states, japan, and canada have done. >> i do not know if any of our colleagues have more questions. i just have one comment. i was asking your staff not too long ago, when you consider the number people slaughtered here, by one estimate now more than 3500, a to do the math, in terms of population proportionally, it is the equivalent of 43,000 americans being killed by our government. i know it is a different world. but it is hard to comprehend that that kind of a slaughter is taking place and does not get near enough attention in this town. so we will keep at it.

questions -- senator lugar? >> i would like to ask about the fu situation in syria. -- the food situation in syria. in the agricultural committee, we get reports about the changes in exports or imports in egypt and tunisia and libya after-- arab spring. without going into details,the expense of importing grains that are part of the diets of those countries has increased largely in worldwide prices. beyond the capacity to pay for it. given the problems in the banking system have created a

situation in which, in these countries, there may be as much as 40% decline in the amount of food being consumed by the people of these countries. that is a very large change. some have pointed out that leaders in these countries retain their power through so- called food subsidies. if people were very unhappy in the hustings, somehow there were pacified by money coming out that they use for food. i'm not sure about syria. i have not heard about the nutrition and food supply coming out of sanctions or out of the problem of loss of export money or exchange or whether there has been an impact there. >> in terms of sanctions, food and medicine are exempt from sanctions. we do not have reports of

sanctions themselves having an impact directly on the food supply. and fact, the reports we have had a shortage of food in syria are places that are under siege, where it has been hard to get food in because the army is occupying the outskirts. we have not have reports of widespread malnutrition or widespread food shortages in syria. but you touch on the very important point, which is the subsidy question. the syrian country was highly subsidized, mismanaged, at the same time that bushar and his clique are trying to maintain some semblance of control through the food subsidy program. you see signs of a little bit of panic among the upper echelon of this elite system.

they put a ban on the import of luxury goods into syria and ordered to try it -- in order to safeguard currency. probably to help keep the subsidy program going for the general population. they had to reverse. uc >> in the system -- you see cracks in the system. >> many feel that it came down to this. there are young people in tahrir square demanding their rights, but there were 80 million people. and those who were used to getting subsidies from the mubarak government for not getting their subsidies. there was a whole pattern there in terms of countrywide revolt

which was not a hidden factor, but may be a major factor in finally changing the government. >> i do not have much to add to what secretary feldman said. the ban on imports at the end of september was significant. i think it was imposed in large part to protect their foreign exchange reserves, which is a demonstration that actions taken together have had an -- had a significant impact good the ban was imposed and subsequently revote in this one of many examples of erratic policy making by the syrian regime. which has refocused the anger and dissatisfaction of the syrian people on the syrian had regime rather than on the international community.

>> i want to thank both of our witnesses>> the record will be kept open. for one week for members of the committee. secondly, we have received testimony for the record from the following organizations. the foundation for the defense of democracy, the washington institute for near east policy, and human rights watch. those will be made part of the record, as well. if there is nothing further, we are adjourn. we want to thank our witnesses and this hearing is adjourned. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2011]

>> the senate armed services committee is holding a hearing this morning i proposal to expand the office of the joint chiefs. that is live on c-span 3 at 10:00 a.m. eastern. the company few moments, today's headlines in your calls live on "washington journal." the senate finance committee holds a hearing on unemployment assistance at 10:00 eastern and at noon, federal reserve chairman ben bernanke discusses financial literacy and a town hall meeting with soldiers and their families atfort bliss, te in about 45 minutes, and look at problems in department of housing and urban development programs to help low income homebuyers. our guest is washington p