This language of war won't help Syria escape its agony | Simon Jenkins

In reacting to foreign conflicts, the west has to find a way of engaging that has meaning but stops short of bloodshed

A year ago the Syrian regime was "on the brink of collapse". Following the Houla massacre in May, President Assad was "on his way out". Now his opponents have reached the streets of Damascus and Aleppo, and it is "the beginning of the end for Assad". To Britain he is "unacceptable", to America brutal and bloodthirsty, to the United Nations the architect of...