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The Obama administration expelled Syria's top diplomat from the U.S. on Tuesday, joining an international effort to isolate the country's government following last week's
massacre of more than 100 villagers in the Houla region. United Nations envoy Kofi Annan, who brokered a widely ignored ceasefire between the Syrian regime and rebels, called the killings
the "tipping point," urged Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to take "bold steps" to end the violence, and then left the country on Wednesday. Will the increased
diplomatic pressure help to finally push Assad out of power and stop the Syrian military's attacks against civilians? KICKING OUT DIPLOMATS ACCOMPLISHED NOTHING: This diplomatic slap on
the wrist won't do any good, says David Atkins at _Hullabaloo_. "The Assads of the world couldn't care less what anyone thinks of them as long as they don't feel
personally threatened." It's time for President Obama and other foreign leaders to "stop the pretenses at outrage" and actually _do_ something to force Syria to stop the
murders. Otherwise they might as well just quit pretending they care. "Global fecklessness" SUBSCRIBE TO THE WEEK Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus
analysis from multiple perspectives. SUBSCRIBE & SAVE SIGN UP FOR THE WEEK'S FREE NEWSLETTERS From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The
Week delivered directly to your inbox. From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox. DIPLOMATIC PRESSURE _CAN_
HELP ... IF IT'S DIRECTED AT RUSSIA: Obama isn't the one being feckless, says David Ignatius at _The Washington Post_. Russian President Vladimir Putin, Assad's last foreign
friend, is the one blocking tougher international action against the Syrian regime. The world should turn up the heat on Putin, not Assad, because if the Russian leader joins the diplomatic
push, the Syrian regime might buckle. And if he refuses, "the blood of future massacres is on Russia's hands." "Syria: The blood of future massacres is on Russia's
hands" BUT THIS AT LEAST TIGHTENS THE NOOSE ON ASSAD: The coordinated pressure is just one part of the growing "storm of diplomatic protest" against Assad, says David Blair at
Britain's _The Telegraph_. If the massacres don't stop, Annan might explicitly declare the ceasefire he brokered to have failed. If that happens, Assad will really start feeling
the heat, as some nations "would consider tightening sanctions on Syria, while some countries would choose to arm the regime's enemies." "Syrian diplomats expelled in
coordinated Western action"