As Syrian forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad continue to bomb opposition strongholds, the international community considers its options. On Tuesday, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton testified before Congress against President Assad making an argument that Assad would "fit into that category" of "war criminals." A meeting at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva on Wednesday also signaled renewed diplomatic efforts in Syria, but exactly how the international community might intervene remains to be seen.

Veteran journalist Steve Coll has turned his investigative skills on the SEC’s relationship with Wall Street, the secret history of the CIA and the legacy of the Bin-Ladens. Now he is taking on a great civic feat and endeavoring to read all 407 pages of the stimulus plan. He’s been blogging as he goes, in what reads like a combination of explanatory journalism and travelogue. Steve Coll is the president of the New America Foundation and staff writer for The New Yorker. He has come up for air this morning to give us the lowdown on his journey through this colossal document.