So Senator Carr has called for the assassination of Assard?
When did he do that; and, did all of the media outlets miss that?
Dozens of Syrians die every day, effectively assassinated by one man!
If the assassination of just one man; and say, his even more evil younger brother could end the killing; and or, the threat of escalation that is almost certain to include and involve Iran?
Then why not? [Save, empathy for a brutal butcher, and none whatsoever, for those he is butchering, just to cling to power?]
Given a gregarious Senators Carr's reputation for extremely generous, if incredibly boring verbosity, perhaps he could talk/bore the Assard brothers to death?
It's not like his finger will ever be on that trigger!
Rhrosty.

Why do I get the feeling that another Saddam Hussein moment is about to re-occur, that our political leaders are again conning us so that more war can break out and the West, riding on a horse that's been painted white countless times, will engage in more senseless, unwarranted killing and destruction?

Millions were killed in Iraq because of a lie. Is this to be the fate of Syria?

The Nations of Virtue are about to do it again - "it" being destroy another nation.
Somalia, Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen, Libya and now Syria. And throughout it all the dream of doing Iran.
So many wars and to whose benefit? Not theirs, not ours. Don't we have better ways to use our energy?
And why? Can anyone point to where the world is a better place for all this self-indulgent killing and destruction?
Persecuted peoples so often live to bite back, but peoples are nothing when compared to persecuted religions. And let's make no mistake about it - we are persecuting Islam. Again, why? And if Islam, the world's biggest religion, lives to bite back? Are we ready for that? Or do the Nations of Virtue really think they can keep their foot on that particular neck forever? Foolish foolish dreaming, more like it.
(and a credit - 'Nations of Virtue' comes from the always sensible and rewarding Canadian blog The View From Falling Downs)

Well it was bound to happen, the US President and Sec of State start billowing about chemical weapons, up the ante with threats of what the 'West' will do if Assad does use chemical weapons.......the media get hold of it, build up the story and before you know it....

A false flag event is arranged and lo and behold the US intervenes directly into Syria, backed by NATO, Israel and all of the other hegemonic minions.....result:

Another failed nation destabilised for no reason other than US hegemony and the false need to build a military road towards Iran, the US's ultimate prize.

Just another failed state thanks to America and its corrupt and duplicitous sheeple followers, including Australia.

History will show the truth, and it certainly won't resemble anything being spruiked in the media or from the mouths of politicians today.

It seems many of the commenters here would prefer to see the Syrian population gassed rather than have an external intervention to stop Assad.

David G: “Millions were killed in Iraq because of a lie. Is this to be the fate of Syria?”

A slight exaggeration there I suspect with the number of casualties. But what should the fate of Syria be? A continuous civil war, where Assad is free to use anything at his disposal, including chemical weapons, because no matter what, no external intervention will take place?

halduell : “…let's make no mistake about it - we are persecuting Islam…”

If any Western intervention does eventually take place in Syria, do you seriously believe it is only because Syria is a Muslim country? The actions of the Assad regime over the past couple of years had nothing to contribute to this intervention?

Geoff of Perth: “Another failed nation destabilised for no reason other than US hegemony and the false need to build a military road towards Iran, the US's ultimate prize.”

Syria is already a failed state, unless of course Assad has an ace up his sleeve (chemical weapons?) to eliminate the opposition. A miliraty road to Iran, if that was indeed the US motive, already exists, and has existed for decades vis the Persian Gulf.

Good old reliable Julie. Once again the water carrier for the latest in propaganda out of Tel Aviv and Washington.

You refer to the al Qaeda presence in Syria Julie. Does it ever occur to you that they are there because Washington uses them as its foreign legion force whenever it wishes to stir up trouble in some Muslim hot spot? All this is well documented although your speech writer clearly doesn't keep up with the literature. Even La Clinton admitted it!

Have you bothered to investigate the background of the man being groomed as Assad's replacement from the dubious ranks of the Syrian National Council? Big effort's are now being made by his western handlers to sanitise that background, but his sundry extreme Salafist comments are there to see for those bothered to look.

If you really cared about the use of dangerous weapons why not condemn the US and Israel for their repeated use of, for example, white phosphorous, or depleted uranium which is leaving a multi-generation legacy of deformed babies. Whoops, I forgot. The US and Israel are beyond criticism in the world inhabited by you and your Coalition colleagues.