ABSTRACT

Developments in war-ravaged Syria are fast moving. Concern is mounting about the fate of civilian in the hostilities as well as the domestic and regional fall-out of an increasingly violent and desperate conflict that pitches Western- and Gulf-backed anti-government rebels against embattled President Bashar al-Assad’s Russian and Chinese-supported forces. The fighting in Syria that has already cost some 20,000 dead has become a fight for survival to the bitter end with little concern what Syria will look like the day after.

Russia and China oppose United Nations sanctions as an infringement on Syrian sovereignity and an attempt by the West and the Gulf to create international legal cover for increased military and logistical support of the rebels who lack cohesion and a unified leadership. The West, however, despite its support for the rebels, does not have the appetite to intervene militarily, certainly not in the wake of Afghanistan and Iraq and in advance of US presidential elections. Nonetheless, despite their differences, Americans and Russian share a concern about increasing Islamist influence among the rebels.

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