arwa damon is in da mass kas. >> reporter: the government is promoting this as the initial step to create to implement the president's long promised reforms which include a multi party system to set the country on a new path of democracy, the government says. the conference opened by the syrian vice president who, interestingly, acknowledged that the conference was taking place in an atmosphere -- he also admitted that without the sacrifices, the bloodshed on the civilian and the military side, this type of dialogue would not be taking place. still, there was harsh criticism from the few opposition voices inside, especially criticizing what they are calling the government's excessive use of force. >> translator: the bloodshed needs to stop. yes, there are unauthorized protests. is it a reason to use unjustified and excessive violence against these protests? the use of all types of excessive force is unjustifieded. >> reporter: othered said for this type of dialogue to succeed the violence against demonstrators had to stop. it is, in fact, because of this violence that the significant and

arwa damon is in damascus and joins us with the latest. secretary of state clintden said we really have no interest in assad. we want the will of the people. today we see both. the people who are supporting assad and attacking the embassy and the demonstrators who want him out. how do we know what the real will of the people is? >> well, that's why it's always so challenging to report from a place like syria, e.d., because when we do go out into the streets in an official capacity, it is always in the presence of government minders. so when someone is even speaking about supporting the regime, it is tainted by the fact that the government is effectively listening. many people will say to you they know exactly what happens to those who speak out against the regime. that's what the anti-government demonstrators are saying. they are being targeted because they are voicing their opposition because they are calling for democracy. it makes it difficult to gauge what is happening. the president does still have a fair amount of support. there is st

arwa damon, cnn, damascus. >>> high overhead.a historic moment today that we'll never see again. >> "atlantis" arriving. welcome to the international space station for the last time. >> a nasa space shuttle is now docked with the international space station for the final time. the flight of the "atlantis" represents the end of a long-time u.s. shuttle program. as shuttle missions go, this one is fairly routine. they delivered supplies and spare parts, but when it returns, it will bring back a broken pump and lots of emotional memories. >> britain's prince william and catherine got cheers and some excited screams in los angeles today. the royal newlyweds are wrapping up their whirlwind three-day visit to california mingling with hollywood's biggest stars on saturday. today was all about meeting troops and inner city kids who are striving to make their lives better. now the duke and duchess of cambridge are about to head home. max foster are at los angeles international airport and he'll join us live from there in just a few minute

. >> cnn's arwa damon is in damascus. i asked her how a security where the security apparatus is so tight that today's violence could have gone on and on and on. >> reporter: john, quite frankly, they haven't explained it just yet. we did reach out to them for official comment, but they said that they were fairly preoccupied with the national dialogue conference and did not have any comment as of yet. the u.s., for its part, has come out fairly hard slamming the syrian government for its inaction. and an official with the embassy here told us that this is an unfortunate distraction because the syrian government continues to beat, imprison, torture and kill people who want to peacefully protest. but this really is a sign of the deteriorating relationship between the syrian government and the west. >> the syrian government, to a degree, blames the u.s. ambassador, robert ford, because he has made now a couple of public demonstrations of support. help us understand that better. >> yeah, and a lot of it really revolves around

arwa damon, cnn. >> we'll stay on top of that, thank you, arwa for that report.eanwhile, a dramatic new shift in u.s. policy toward libya. the secretary of state, hillary clinton, dealing moammar gadhafi a major blow by recognizing a key rebel group as the legitimate leader as the country. >> until an interim authority is in place, the united states will recognize the tnc as the legitimate governing authority for libya. and we will deal with it on that basis. in contrast, the united states used the gadhafi regime as no longer having legitimate authority in libya. >> we'll now see if the u.s. government -- if the obama administration unfreezes some of that $33 billion in libyan assets and starts handing over some of those billions to this opposition group. we'll standby for that. >>> meanwhile, damage control, the embattled media mogul rupert murdoch launching a media relations campaign just as there's another bombshell in the scandal. >>> and president obama warns congress, time is running out for a deal on the national debt. why is it so hard for american politi