Julie Bishop is absolutely correct to conclude that it is vitally important to bring a negotiated end to the conflict in Syria. Each member of the UN Security Council and the General Assembly can contribute to stopping the spread of weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East and beyond. The West and some Arab states like Saudi Arabia can help by stopping its arms supply channels into Syria. Australia can also play a positive role by leading and supporting peace initiatives and programs that will bring an end to weapons of mass destruction which the world does not need.

Unfortunately and not for the first time an article by Ms Bishop reads as though she has gone through the talking points provided by Washington and Tel Aviv and ticked them off one by one. There is, frankly, an appalling lack of insight into what is going on in the Middle East and has been going on for a very long time.

One looks in vain for some condemnation of Saudi Arabia, the GCC, Israel and the US for training, arming and financing mainly foreign sourced insurgents. One similarly looks in vain for some recognition that what is happenening in Syria is an al out assault on a sovereign nation in violation of the UN Charter and international law.

One also looks for an acknowledgment that the massive destabilization in the Middle East owes more than a little to US military adventurism in the area including but not limited to the illegal invasion of Iraq.

Where also is an acknowledgment that Israel is the only nuclear armed power in the Middle East, refuses to sign the NPT, ignores international opinion in its treatment of Palestinians, and regularly invades, bombs, attacks through sabotage and assassinations it's neighbors, and now wants military intervention in Syria and Iran.

Then there is the ongoing insinuation that Iran is somehow concealing a nuclear weapons program, despite two unanimous NIE reports that it did not have a nuclear weapons program.

For goodness sake graham, spare us from more of this mindless propaganda. The issues are too important to be treated in this way.

A negotiated settlement Julie? If only that were still possible!
We could have probably avoided this conflict, the blood-letting and the massacre of thousands of innocent non combatant civilians, if just one leader, had the testicular fortitude, to send in a covert special forces unit, to take out evil personified Assard and his considerably more evil younger brother.
The time for talk/talk, yakity yak, blah blah blah, is over!
Too much blood has been spent, and as long as his populace resists him, Assard's murderous operations, rape, torture and plunder, will continue.
We now have no other choice, but to arm and assist the now far better coordinated opposition. If we can't or won't help, we need to simply get out of the way!
Enough already!
These weapons ought to include SAM's and anti armour ordinance!
The resistance will then be able to do the rest.
The mercenaries currently conducting Assard's mass extermination event, are only strong, when they have superior weapons and numbers.
They can be relied on to cut and run, when their operations begin to be represented by body bags, lost advantage and territory!
The Turks already have legitimate cause to provide a no flight zone and attack Assard's armour!
After they are defeated, the Assards deserve no more mercy, than that they have already displayed for their own.
A Quick and Merciful bullet to the back of those mass murder's heads; on sight, would be deserved justice and far less problematic, costly, or time wasting, than the circus that is the International Court?
Rhrosty.

I fully endorse the comment from James. Julie is using this fine forum to push the American line, the Israeli line, and her party's line.

She present articles that bear her name but are probably written by her staffers. She ignores all those who comment as if she is the holder of all knowledge and anyone who disagrees with her is irrelevant, beneath contempt.

Let her argue her position if she really believes it is relevant and truthful. If she is not prepared to debate the issues then she should be ignored!

I think to some extent the Syrians are caught in the cross-fire of a proxy war between Iran and Saudi Arabia. Detaching the Syrian Alawite regime from Iran's orbit would be a major setback for the Iranian mullahs.

It would also be a setback for Hezbollah. It may even trigger another civil war in Lebanon.

My own feeling is that in the end the Americans will destroy Iran's nuclear program in order to avoid the situation where a nuclear Iran squares off against a nuclear Saudi Arabia.

Now there's the real nightmare scenario. Two unstable Jihadi theocracies with nukes.

And another unstable nuclear-armed Muslim country, Pakistan, in the background!

Time to start digging that radiation fallout shelter. Back to the 1950s.

Steven, you forgot to mention that Israel has a large nuclear arsenal already and, given its religious zealotry, is the most likely nation in the Middle East to use it! It also has Greater Israel as one of its raisons de etre.

Was that just an oversight or was it intentional?