The World vs al-Assad and There's Nowhere to Hide for Either Side

Things are moving rapidly today concerning Syria, as the world continues to be stunned by the massacre of 108 civilians in Houla, many children (49 by some counts) and as many women.
The preliminary UN report confirms that they were executed, shot at close range or garrotted. If you had the opportunity and the courage to watch the images on TV, you saw toddlers and young children with bullet holes in their chests or their throats slashed.
France, Germany, Great Britain, Australia, Canada and the United States today declared the Syrian ambassadors in their countries persona non grata and expelled them.
It is clear that this was an concerted worldwide effort to send a firm message to al-Assad and his clique that they are now considered international pariahs not worthy of diplomatic exchanges. Italy, Spain, Bulgaria and Switzerland have also ejected their Syrian diplomatic representatives. Belgium has called for a meeting with the Syrian ambassador in Brussels, pointing to an expulsion as well.
Most western nations have already withdrawn their ambassadors from Syria after the shelling of Homs.
French President Hollande went so far as to say that the use of an armed contingent under the control of the UN and approved by the Security Council is not to be ruled out, although he explained that the pressure on the Syria regime could be something other than military, which would be in the best interests of the country.
President Hollande went on to say that he will meet in Paris Friday with Russian President Putin, noting: “It is Russia and China which are the most reluctant on the question of sanctions. Well, we will have to convince them that we cannot allow the regime of Bashar al-Assad to massacre its own people.”
Special UN envoy to Syria, Kofi Annan, has called on al-Assad to “act now” to end the violence. “The Syrian president must act now, and the other parties in Syria must do their part, too” Annan said in a news conference after a Tuesday meeting with al-Assad in Damascus. Annan, who also met with the armed opposition leadership, added, “I told him that it is now time to act courageously, not tomorrow but now, to create the conditions necessary for putting the ceasefire in place.”
An Arab League official said that it is also time for “the armed militias supporting the regime to stop their military operations.” It is thought that the “chabbiha” - a pro-regime private militia - was instrumental in the Houla massacre. Many in Houla were killed with knives, indicating chabbiha activity, while others were killed by exploding bombs, which only the al-Assad regime possesses.
Al-Assad said after his meeting with Kofi Annan that the only way to end the fighting is for outsiders to stop arming terrorists. The regime is carrying out its own investigation and will have a report on Wednesday. It seems that al-Assad has not changed his stripes or his tune.
The leading opposition coalition, the Syrian National Council, welcomed the West’s diplomatic moves and asked for the UN Security Council to adopt a resolution permitting armed intervention if needed to prevent or stop massacres and genocide.
Perhaps the most promising news today is that UN monitors and journalists on the ground in Syria are reporting that the al-Assad army is tired and shows it in combat. It has taken many losses in the past few weeks, and has also lost members to the opposition.
Moscow, meanwhile, continues to support al-Assad, saying that both sides are to blame for the Houla massacre and calling for an impartial UN investigation. But, there are rumors that Russia is working with al-Assad to try to get him out of Syria and into a safe haven, so that he can keep his freedom and his money if he resigns.
Lebanon, a country always in the midst of Syrian politics through no fault of its own, often simply by being overrun by Syrian forces, is saying that it does not want to become a base for international operations against the al-Assad regime. Lebanon wants to remain neutral in order to stop the fighting now occurring on its territory by pro- and anti-Assad guerrilla groups.
As several reporters said on CNN special programs last night, this time we cannot say we didn’t know what was going on. It is not Bosnia or Sarajevo, or Rwanda or the Congo.
This time, reporters and civilians with smartphones have covered the Syrian massacres and civilian killings.
This time, there is visual and eyewitness evidence.
This time, if the world turns a blind eye, it will, itself, have Syrian blood on its hands.