I suppose the world is waiting until the Assad regime implodes, so we're getting peace envoys and such to play the dialog game. I do wonder how much longer this world can really afford to wait. Dialog is the currency of despots, a way to buy time. Just ask the Iranian regime. They've been "talking" about their nuclear program for years.
The way I see it, the longer this is allowed to go on, the harder the recovery will be, even if the regime eventually falls. The more time we allow for the regime to kill, and the armed opposition to diversify and import AQ types, the deeper the wounds will be.
The time is now, while there's a shred of national identity left, for those with the power to shape events to step up their efforts to help the change take place. We don't need another battleground for frustrated young Arabs to practice their jihad, or whatever it is they call it. And we certainly don't want all those sects and ethnicities to get different ideas. I don't know if the region can handle another Iraq.
Or Lebanon, for that matter.
