Clinton presses world to shut tap on Syrian oil

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Struggling to counter widening violence and repression in Syria, the Obama administration stepped up calls Friday for a global trade embargo on oil and gas from the Middle East nation, warning even some of America's closest allies that they must "get on the right side of history" and cut links with a government that won't reform.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said international opinion was hardening against President Bashar Assad, noting a "crescendo of condemnation" from world powers and Syria's Arab neighbors. But she said tougher action was required, too.

"We urge those countries still buying Syrian oil and gas, those countries still sending Assad weapons, those countries whose political and economic support give him comfort in his brutality, to get on the right side of history," Clinton said.

Assad, she said, "has lost the legitimacy to lead and it is clear that Syria would be better off without him."