Abu Aardvark on Syria

Abu Aardvark has some comments on Syria that I whole-heartedly agree with. In addition, I would add a point about Syrian politics: Whereas Iraq was rule by Saddam Hussein, Syria is ruled by a wider collection of people, and as of a couple of years ago it was even considered likely that Bashar al-Assad was ruling only as a sort of figurehead between rival factions. I don't know the current speculation, but it probably hasn't changed much. This makes little difference for the average Syrian's political freedoms, but it does matter in terms of the range of policy options available when dealing with the country.