The Neo Cons in the West want the Russian base out of Syria.Syria is also an ally of Iran which Israel wants to invade under more lies.

While Russia and China are no angels,nor are the Western Imperialists who want to control all the oil on the planet.I see Russia and China as a good counter balance to the BMIC ( Banking Military Industrial Complex)

This is all about a few Western Oil Companies controlling even more oil.Having more oil in fewer hands makes the price more expensive for us.We want more diverse ownership of oil to keep prices lower.

Arjay,

Please take the blinkers off and look beyond the square - it serves no-one any good to have continuing conflict in Syria, or anywhere else in the middle east.

The problems in Egypt and Libya aren't settled either - and really require urgent international assistance (as a matter of priority!) to hold free and fair elections and establish stability and democratic government. (Though perhaps you don't think democracy offers the best way to achieve equity, stability and a fair go for all?)

People are dying, and that is the priority, but having Egypt and Libya still in turmoil sets a pretty poor example - and if anything reinforces Assad's tenacity.

Regarding oil: Perhaps it would help if the international community (through the UN) was to make a commitment to guarantee maintenance of the sovereignty of borders and resources of all of these troubled nations - as a sign of genuine goodwill and support.

Assad must also fear an end like Qaddafi or Mubarak, so it might help if the international community declared its hand now - trial for crimes against humanity, or possible leniency for an immediate cessation of hostilities. Pressure, with an open hand.

Security Council: The big four (Russia, China, US and EU) need to get their heads together and sort out a solution, a pact, something to enable them to put real pressure on Assad (and the military juntas in Egypt and Libya). No-one wants military intervention, but the failure of the SC to form a united front is playing into Assad's hands, and allowing the situation to become increasingly reckless and unstable. Only they can stop things getting way out of hand.

Arjay & Saltpetre,
Better call & tell Kim Sattler there're some Syrians in a restaurant down the road.

Let's get this straight.This in not about saving the Syrian people.The people of Zimbabwe needed saving many times but oil could not be found in or near their country.

Both the CIA and Mossad agents are stirring trouble in Syria.Webster Tarpley who was there late last yr reported on snipers killing people at random thus causing chaos.They were not Assad snipers.Why would Assad destabilise his own regieme?

This is about the Russian base and Iran's support of Syria.Syria does also have some oil.Israel has at least 200+ nukes and the means to deliver them,while Iran has yet to develop one.Why are not there weapons inspectors in Israel? Israel is far more dangerous than Iran.

The invasion of Iraq was a lie,(there were no WMD's) and so will be the invasion of Iran.

Putin with good reason regretted not stopping the invasion of Libya.Both Russia and China are standing up to Western aggression with good reason.We don't have the capacity for a long conventional war.We are broke,have almost no manufacturing base,a dermoralised military and a public becoming aware of the financial treachery being enacted upon them.

The West will precipitate a serious nuke war if we don't wake up and stop it.Russia and China are just reacting to our aggression.

Syria, like most conflicts, is not one between "good guys" and "bad guys." It is the bad guys versus the bad guys with everyone else caught in the middle..

We all recognise that Assad is one of the bad guys.

Those who think the Free Syria Army (FSA) are the good guys may be interested in this piece from the BBC.

SYRIA'S SLIDE TOWARDS CIVIL WAR

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-16984219

Quotes:

>>The [FSA] commander near Qusayr told me they were fighting for all of Syria's religions and sects: Christian, Muslim, Alawite, Sunni, Druze, Shia.

[…]

But his next words left no doubt, either, that for many, this is a religious - and Islamic - struggle against the secular Baath regime.

"For the first time," he went on, "we are able to proclaim the word of God throughout this land.">>

And:

>>To explain, they [FSA] showed me a film taken from the mobile phone of a captured Shabiha. Prisoners lay face down on the ground, hands tied behind their backs. One-by-one, their heads were cut off.

The man wielding the knife said, tauntingly, to the first: "This is for freedom."

As his victim's neck opened, he went on: "This is for our martyrs. And this is for collaborating with Israel.">>

End Quotes:

There are other aspects to this conflict.

--Partly it is sectarian.

--Partly it is Saudi proxies fighting Iranian proxies. Assad has, in effect, become an Iranian puppet.

--It is already spilling over into neighbouring Lebanon where Sunnis and Alawites are beginning to fight each other. (Syrian massacres jolt north Lebanon, http://www.dailystar.com.lb/Article.aspx?id=162878#axzz1mgxY8CDV)

Do we really want to get involved in this caldron?

The only sane course of action is to avoid involvement in any shape, manner or form.

Isn't it best to move in, than to watch from the outside. Russia and China are content for them to self destruct. Sounds like there is a lot of the old regime still in Russia.
Arjay is happy to sit on the fence and watch Rome burn.