10 actions the “International Community”
should urgently take to help Syrian refugeesForcing millions to flee is an integral part of Assad's war strategy. When Jeremy Bowen tells BBC viewers, "as long as this war goes on", he should really say, as long as the régime's bombing of civilians continues. It could be stopped with anti-aircraft weapons, but the international community has been more concerned with stopping jihadists going to fight Assad.
It is Russian and Iranian intervention that has prolonged about the crisis. The world should have been campaigning against that, not against the fantasy that the non-existent Western support for the rebels was the problem. Demanding that Syrians be allowed the means to defend themselves is still the right course. If the crisis continues with Syrians still disempowered, it will be al-Qaida and the USAF that intervene when things get even worse.