How can the international consensus opposing the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad be translated into effective action against him? An answer to this question has yet to be found, even after the Friends of Syria conference in Tunisia on Friday. Perhaps there is no answer yet, because in truth, the consensus is only theoretical, on paper. It is no wonder that Assad is still holding on. U.S. President Barack Obama said on Friday that he was ready to look for every tool available to prevent the slaughter of innocents in Syria. He also welcomed international unity with respect to the Syrian issue. But Obama forgot to mention a few things. First, he himself recently said (on Feb. 6) that he did not see a need for military intervention in Syria to solve the crisis. This means there is no possibility for employing an effective deterrent power: the use of force. Second, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Saturday once again attacked Russia and China for preventing U.N. Security Council action against the Syrian regime. And finally, The New York Times on Saturday highlighted the divisions among the Syrian opposition, which make it more difficult to topple Assad. Long live the consensus. Those who stole the show at the conference in Tunisia were actually the parties that did not participate (Russia and China) as well as the one that stormed out angrily (Saudi Arabia). Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal, justified his actions by saying the conference lacked teeth, but he also wanted to undermine the efforts of its partner Qatar. In the meantime, Assad is acting like it is business as usual. Dozens more were killed over the weekend in the besieged city of Homs, adding to the thousands that were killed last week. Injured Western journalists trapped in the beleaguered city have been begging to be rescued since last Wednesday. The world intervened in Libya: The U.N. Security Council passed a resolution, declared a no-fly zone and both western and Arab armies attacked theregime of late deposed leader Moammar Gadhafi. As for Syria, a decision has not even been made to arm the Free Syrian Army. Meanwhile, the Pentagon has prepared intervention scenarios based on NATO operations in Kosovo. The plan is intended to provide a humanitarian response and lead to a no-fly zone above Syria. But at the moment, it appears to be little more than a threat. The Syrian army poses a bigger problem for NATO than the Libyan army, and the West is not ready to suffer more casualties. Until the world stops stammering, Assad will continue to put on performances and is even scheduled to present a new Syrian constitution on Sunday. Turkey plans to convene another session of the Friends of Syria three weeks from now in Istanbul. That must be very encouraging for the residents of Homs.
