The National Security Council spokesman, Tommy Vietor, told reporters Monday that the White House "is pursuing a range of possible policy options, including targeted sanctions, to respond to the crackdown and make clear that this behavior is unacceptable."

More than 300 people have been killed during opposition protests and associated actions, and the White House response will mark the first time the U.S. has openly considered punitive actions against the Assad regime.

Sanctions would "make clear to the Syrian government that we believe it needs to cease and desist from the violence it's been perpetrating against its own citizens," according to White House Press Secretary Jay Carney.

The United States already has sanctions against the country.  In 2004, the Syria Accountability Act banned the importation of goods that have more than 10 percent of their parts manufactured in the United States.  A sanction tied to the PATRIOT Act froze assets of the Commercial Bank of Syria in 2006.  Lastly, there are a group of "Executive Orders from the President that specifically deny certain Syrian citizens and entities access to the U.S. financial system due to their participation in proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, association with Al Qaida, the Taliban or Osama bin Laden; or destabilizing activities in Iraq and Lebanon," according to the U.S. Embassy in Damascus.

White House officials would not offer up whether they thought the end of the Assad regime was near, or what a post-Assad government might look like.

"It is up to the people of Syria to decide who its leader should be" said Carney. "That's what we believe."

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Reach Executive Producer Mary Slosson here.  Follow her on Twitter @maryslosson.