"The ongoing conflict in Syria, in a year of tremulous conflict across the region and beyond, singularly fails to ignite passions in the West. Oddly, even professional media coverage is relatively lacking, certainly compared to the interest in, say, Egypt. It is not as if nothing momentous is happening in Syria," writes Marc Gascoigne in a short piece about Syria here.

The brutal Syrian dictatorship deserves to be brought down by the popular opposition that has courageously taken to the streets in large numbers since early 2011. That doesn't mean endorsing the Syrian National Council or calls from any opposition forces for foreign military intervention, which "could lead to a major historical catastrophe" as Gilbert Achcar argues.

As a group of Syrian socialists puts it, "The future of our people and of its country can only be decided on by the masses of our country. The fall of the regime and the building of a Syria of liberty and justice are up to the insurgent popular masses now and to those who will not fail to rally to the revolution shortly. It is our stake, it is the path to the victory, liberty and sovereignty of our people. The mass general strike will lead there."