Syria

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Syrian protesters carry a large revolution flag and chant slogans during a demonstration in Aleppo, Syria, where young people and children sang songs against President Bashar Assad and his regime on Friday, Dec. 21, 2012. (AP Photo/Virginie Nguyen Hoang)

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Lakhdar Brahimi, joint special representative of the United Nations and the League of Arab States for Syria, answers media questions after consultations at U.N. headquarters on Thursday, Nov. 29, 2012. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

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** File ** Syrian rebels attend a training session in Maaret Ikhwan, near Idlib, Syria, Dec 17, 2012. (Associated Press)

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A boy runs for cover after a mortar shell hit a street and killed several people in the Bustan Al-Qasr district of Aleppo, Syria, on Monday, Dec. 17, 2012. (AP Photo/Narciso Contreras)

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Syrians, who fled their homes with their families, gather around a fire to warm themselves at a makeshift vegetables store in a camp for the displaced in the village of Atmeh, Syria, Tuesday, Dec. 18, 2012. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)

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Iran seems to understand it cannot hang its entire strategy on the survival of Syrian President Bashar Assad (wearing sash next to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad) and needs to build new alliances as contingencies. Iran has proposed a plan for elections in Syria for parliament and president. (Associated Press)

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Participants at a conference on Syria in November await the start of a session at the Esteghlal Hotel in Tehran. (Associated Press)

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A mosaic of Hafez Al Assad is seen after being shot at by FSA soldiers after heavy clashes with government forces at a military academy besieged by the rebels in Tal Sheer, Syria, Sunday, Dec 16, 2012 (AP Photo / Manu Brabo)

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In this Thursday, Sept. 6, 2007 file photo, Syrian Vice President Farouk al-Sharaa talks to journalists during a joint press conference with Italian Premier Romano Prodi at Chigi palace, in Rome. Syria's longtime vice president said the army cannot defeat the rebels fighting to topple the regime, the first admission by a top government official that a victory by President Bashar Assad is unlikely. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia, File)

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Free Syrian Army fighter looks at the body of a Syrian Army soldier after heavy clashes with government forces at a military academy besieged by the rebels in Tal Sheer, Syria, Sunday, Dec 16, 2012. (AP Photo / Manu Brabo)

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Machine gun rounds are seen near to a Syrian Army trench after heavy clashes with government forces at a military academy besieged by the rebels in Tal Sheer, Syria, Sunday, Dec 16, 2012. (AP Photo / Manu Brabo)

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In this Saturday, Dec. 15, 2012 photo, people help a wounded Free Syrian Army fighter during heavy clashes with government forces at a military academy besieged by rebels north of Aleppo, Syria. (AP Photo/Narciso Contreras)

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In this Monday, Dec. 17, 2012 photo, Syrian rebels listen to their trainer while teaching them how to use the RPG during a training session in Maaret Ikhwan, near Idlib, Syria. The training is part of an attempt to transform the rag-tag rebel groups into a disciplined fighting force. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)