There appears to be mounting evidence that Syrian forces have used Sarin gas against its own civilians.  If that’s true, it vastly changes the situation in Syria.  The Israeli’s were the first to make this claim followed by the US and UK.  Although not airtight, it’s fairly certain war crimes were committed by the al-Assad regime. Speaking at the White House as he met with King Abdullah II of Jordan, Mr Obama said, “Horrific as it is when mortars are being fired on civilians and people are being indiscriminately killed, to use potential weapons of mass destruction on civilian populations crosses another line with respect to international norms and international law.”  He continued, “All of us, not just the United States, but around the world, have to recognise how we cannot stand by and permit the systematic use of weapons like chemical weapons on civilian populations.”  If verified, serious action may need to be taken against Syria.  I say, “may need to be taken” because it is far more complicated than simply imposing a no-fly zone or arming rebels.  The west has no real parter in Syria.  The rebels are not necessarily better than those in power simply because they don’t have the same resources.  Bad guys don’t become good guys because they’re the underdogs.  There is an internal struggle taking place in Syria but do we know who will lead should his government fall?  And who’s to say whoever fills the power void won’t be worse and now in control of deadly chemical weapons.  Time and again, US policy has been short-sighted, with a complete lack of understanding of the situation on the ground.  Does anyone remember Osama Bin Laden?  Our blind and ignorant hatred of Communism and the Russians caused us to make decisions that proved deadly to our own citizens decades later.  Bin Laden and his terrorists were always the bad guys and we should have sided with the Soviets as contrary as that might have seemed at the time.  So before President Obama shifts policy to one of intervention, we better know exactly what we are doing and with whom. On a final, side note, if the chemical weapon attacks turn out to be true, we now know exactly where the Iraqi weapons of mass destruction found a home.