US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said that the operation of Syria’s Aleppo could bring an end to the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.

US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said that the operation of Syria’s Aleppo could bring an end to the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.

"If they continue this kind of tragic attack on their own people in Aleppo, I think it ultimately will be a nail in Assad's coffin,” he said as he flew to Tunis on the start of a five-day trip to build military relations with the emerging governments in Tunisia, Egypt and the Zionist entity.

"What Assad has been doing to his own people and what he continues to do to his own people makes clear that his regime is coming to an end. It's lost all legitimacy," he added.
But Panetta gave no indication that the United States plans to take any new action against Syria. 

He said the key was to continue increasing economic and diplomatic pressure on the Assad government.

Later this the week, the defense secretary is scheduled to travel to Palestinian occupied territories, where he will meet with Israeli leaders.  On the agenda will likely be Iran's nuclear program and the possibility of an Israeli preemptive strike on Iran's nuclear facilities, something the Obama administration has wanted to prevent.