Anything the US does now is too little, too late; Syrian rebels pledge loyalty to al-Qaeda

USA Today  "Al Nusra and groups like it have seen some of the most significant victories against Syrian government forces in the course of the 2-year-old uprising in which Assad's forces have killed about 80,000 people. Rebels not affiliated with al-Qaeda have pressed Washington for months to send weaponry that will allow them to match the heavy weapons of the Syrian army. They've urged the West to mount an air campaign against Assad's mechanized forces."
....
 ""This illustrates the need for American leadership in the Syrian conflict, particularly with regard to helping non-Qaeda-aligned rebels contain the growth of (al Nusra) and similar groups," he said."

Russia's new Middle Eastern role  " Russia may enjoy the paralysis of the West in the region and seek to embarrass the United States and its allies, but that is a secondary matter. It also may want to demonstrate to the world that it doesn't abandon allies the way that the United States abandoned former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak. Again, that is a minor matter. Russia's interest in the outcome of the Syrian civil war stems from two critical interests."....

Sort of how the West abandoned Czechoslovakia in 1938 and millions died as a result of our cowardice. Just to point out that it is unwise not to learn from history.