CAIRO (Reuters) - After months of silence, Arabs are showing old formulas in the region no longer apply. The Arab League, which for six decades barely lifted a finger in anger at a member state, is now threatening Syria with sanctions for cracking down on protests.
What led to this is a mixture of Syria's blindness to - or at least determination to ignore - change brought with the Arab Spring; Damascus's choice of friends which has for years riled Arabs particularly in the Gulf; and a new chief at the League with a record of human rights work he is now bringing to bear.