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In this Friday, July 22, 2011, a citizen journalism image made on a mobile phone and provided by Shaam News Network, Syrian anti-regime protesters gather during a rally in al-Assy square in the western city of Hama, Syria. The Arabic on banner reads:"we will never forget our martyrs and prisoners." A citizen journalism image/APOn Wednesday, Hisham Melhem Washington bureau chief for the Al-Arabiya News Channel, Mona Yacoubia from the Center for Conflict Analysis Prevention, U.S. Institute of Peace, Robert Malley from the International Crisis Group, CNN's Arwa Damon, and Turkish Foreign Ministry Spokesman Selcuk Unal joined NPR's Diane Rehm to discuss the crisis in Syria.
The program did an excellent job of summing up the most current news, but the panel also addressed some of the most important questions about the conflict: Why haven't there been larger protests in Aleppo, what are Assad's tactics, what is the role of sectarianism or ethnicity in the conflict, and how might international sanctions effect the regime.