John Kerry Fights the Wrong War

A time comes in the course of deadly upheavals when the world wearies of the slaughter and the bloodshed turns routine.

Words lose their shock value, and all that matters will have been said. Bashar al-Assad had bet it would unfold that way; from the beginning of this struggle, he warned one and all in his country that the foreign cavalry will not show up, that the promises of help will not materialize. The world is feckless, despots know, and all they need to do is to hunker down and wait out the initial moment of outrage.