Political Comment (6 February 2012)

The Arab League has called off its monitoring mission in Syria and the focus of the crisis has shifted to the Security Council, where the Russians continue to resist any suggestion of regime change or outside intervention. Iran's foreign minister thinks the answer is sweeping political reforms. The visit to Jordan by the leader of the Palestinian Islamic party Hamas is a sign of the times. In Iraq the largest party in parliament, Iraqiyya, has...