Bashar Assad of Syria maintains his grip on power as the SNC fights in vain to get help from the UN and the West. A proposed ground force is highly unlikely and would be vetoed by Russia and China anyway. The mention of Al Qaida operating in Syria also goes both ways- the US says there is not enough proof to take action while Assad claims that all military action is against "terrorists"! So a no-win situation for all opponents of the corrupt regime. The AL Observers are total failures, restricted by the Govt, and have achieved nothing of significance while hundreds if not thousands continue to be slaughtered each month for a year almost. A sad, tragic conflict...