; it has I'm not sure that 999's ranting hysteria is the path to peace and tranquility in this troubled world.

As Little Hawk said so cogently, Bashar's major crime has been to defend his regime; a regime that was harsh and brutal by western standards but one which did for some years continue the stability achieved by his father.

His father, it might be argued, was far more brutal. Indeed Hafez al-Assad was responsible for the region's biggest massacre in modern times, one that by most estimates comfortably eclipsed the one achieved by Saddam at Halabja. Yet it was Assad who forced through equal rights for women, in the face of fanatical Sunni opposition. He even overturned a decree barring women from the presidency, though the Muslim Brotherhood together with other Islamic factions eventually succeeded in rescinding that initiative.

The west never for a moment considered intervening on behalf of the many thousands of victims at Hama, any more than they did on behalf of the victims at Halabja. But of course many years later Halabja was eagerly cited, as a justification for the mission creep whereby regime change became a legitimate objective in the Iraq war.

In all likelihood, any military intervention in Syria would be as catastrophic as that in Iraq, which has resulted in a hundred times more deaths than those inflicted by Saddam.

I fear that western attitudes, whereby a corrupt tyrant like Mobutu is to be funded and cherished while the Saddams and Bashars are demonised - and which can lead ultimately to 999-type hysterics - are dictated by little more than what is fashionable at the time.

Keith, I expect I'm wasting my time, as in your simplistic mind no argument could ever have two sides, but nevertheless I suggest you try a little bit of reading:

Iran and the bomb: a fabricated threat

The Waltz article itself, under discussion at that link, cannot be reached without going through a pay wall, as far as I can see.(It's on a website I access through someone else's account.} That's a pity: it has caused a little stir in academia and even caught the attention of a few politicians.