Turkey’s Parliament approved military action against Syria yesterday, though they downplayed it as not a prelude to an invasion or a “war mandate.” But while Syria apologized for cross-border shelling that killed five in Turkey and drew this response, the Turkish military fired over the border for a second day, as the Turkish Prime Minister announced more provocations from their neighbor.

There’s a report out today from the current deputy Prime Minister of Syria that they would be “ready to discuss” the resignation of Bashar al-Assad and the transition to a new government. That the statement came while the deputy PM was in Russia for talks adds some significance. Upon closer inspection, however, it looks more like a tactic than anything.

As fighting continues in Aleppo, with 20,000 Syrian regime troops preparing a final assault, a confusing set of reports indicates that the Prime Minister has defected to Jordan. Defections like this represent as great a threat to the legitimacy of the Syrian regime as anything the rebel army can accomplish.

Observers are bracing for what many believe could be a massacre in the Syrian city of Aleppo, the biggest by population in the country. Regime war planes have already bombed the city where rebels have assembled in an attempt to take and hold ground. Now artillery shelling is taking place, according to the rebels, and tank columns may be rolling in.

Yesterday’s attack on the seat of power in Syria has completely changed the dynamic in that country. Fighting continues in the neighborhoods surrounding Damascus, the capital, including in patches close to government buildings and the presidential palace. Residents can surely feel the difference between a regime in control and one that can face attacks at the highest levels at any time. The attack will probably lead to even less constraints by the regime, if that’s possible, on the use of deadly force.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s continued survival is predicated on their Russian patrons to a large extent. So this shift from Moscow is really a crushing blow.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has essentially declared a civil war in a meeting with his new cabinet, which was broadcast on state-run TV. He did this as fighting raged just outside of the capital of Damascus, and as gunmen stormed a pro-government TV channel, killing seven.

Allowing Assad, who has murdered at least 10,000 of his own people in the past year or so, to receive clemency would be a gut-wrenching outcome. But if it ends the carnage, it could be seen as a positive step.

Syria has helpfully asked the UN for more monitors – but no more than 250 in a country of over 20 million – to observe the cease-fire taking place in the embattled country. They even offered their own air support, so no need for independent aircraft to aid mobility for the observers! I think today’s events will put a damper on the allegedly positive Syrian proposal, however.

The United States closed its embassy in Syria today, in response to continuing attacks by security forces in Homs that have escalated the death toll in the uprising. Nothing that the international community has done thus far has led to any pullback in efforts by Bashar al-Assad to use his security forces to crush the uprising.