On Tuesday night, the Obama administration began signaling that it will call for Bashar al-Assad’s departure in Syria. CNN and other outlets reported that the White House would soon increase pressure on the Syrian government’s finances, and isolate a number of officials in the Assad regime.

It’s about time. With each passing day, Assad’s forces brutalize his population and the death toll rises. According to Ammar Abdulhamid, a prominent Syrian opposition figure, as of last week, the regime had murdered 2,675 people, including 158 children below the age of 14, and detained 16,000. Another 4,382 are missing. In addition, since protests began in March, there have been 28 documented cases of rape and 89 of death under torture. Thousands of refugees have fled for Turkey or Lebanon.