[An] official at the U.S. embassy in Damascus…[said]… "...We want the people who are facilitating the human rights violations to stop.” Both European and U.S. diplomats said targeted sanctions are likely to be expanded to business elites known to be directly supporting the regime, including, for the first time...companies and entities associated with it...Andrew Tabler, a fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy...confirmed there were serious discussions in Washington about placing sanctions on consumers of Syrian oil and gas, as well as foreign energy companies working in Syria, a boycott that...could starve the regime of up to $8 million a day, money [that opposition activists] say goes directly to pay for the security forces leading the brutal crackdown. [refers to Shell, Total]