Saudi Arabia, NATO, and Israel all want Assad gone. Now, who or what replaces him....

[Junkdrawer]

all depends on very different agendas. Agendas that really could give a shit about the Syrian people.

And so, when you say Syrian Rebels, remember you're talking about VERY different groups, most with EXTERNAL agendas.

Makes the idea of a rebel group as the source of the attack all the more plausible.

[Taverner]

1. I know this guy, Ahmed Chalabi...

[Junkdrawer]

2. Good, he can be the next target....

and a more deserving target would be hard to find....

[DemocratSinceBirth]

3. Actually, it's in America And Israel's interest to let Syria bleed forever.

Just as it was in America's interest to let Iraq and Iran bleed each other to death during their eight year war and that's why America played both sides.

The question is it the moral thing to do.

[Junkdrawer]

4. NATO wants to deny Russia its only Mediterranean port

Israel wants to see Iran defeated.

What "America" wants is anybody's ($$$) guess.

[n2doc]

6. America is the 'muscle'

In any syndicate, there are those whose job it is to enforce the wishes of the leaders. America is just that.

[MADem]

5. The Arab League, the USA and a bunch of others favor a Yemen Scenario for Syria.

This has been the view for the last couple of years.

The way it works is that al-Assad leaves (he'd probably need to take his murdering brother with him), his Vice President fleets up, and all the bureaucrats stay in place.

The 'reset' button is effectively pushed, and diplomacy can resume.

No regime change--just al-Assad change. The rest of the crew stays the same. That will no doubt disappoint many of the FSA/Rebel/Opposition forces. Too bad for them, though--they can try for a place at the table through diplomacy because it will be quite the trick to find people to continue to support them, assuming the VP acts in good faith and is invested in a peaceful way forward. That's a trick, too, but they must think he's persuadable.