Syrians dig in for long haul

From an excellent post on Syria Comment, in which a Syrian exile returns home and asks people about the uprising:

“What does the President have to do to gain your support from this point?” I ask. “It is too late. There is nothing” came the quick response”. How long will it take for the revolution to succeed and topple the regime? Four years came the quick response. Naturally, I act surprised. He makes a bet with me that it will be this long. The four years are needed before the country is truly starving and when even the 8-year old is forced to go  down onto the streets to join the protests. “Only then, will the regime fall,” was his explanation.

Read the whole thing, which is full of fascinating discussions with Syrians of various stripes.

Update: Separately, on the whole intervention debate, this is a very interesting long blog post over at Slouching Towards Columbia. I particularly like this bit that is quoted there:

John Quincy Adams said: “[America] goes not abroad in search of monsters to destroy. She is the well-wisher to the freedom and independence of all. She is the champion and vindicator only of her own.” This is commonly interpreted as isolationist, but there is a deeper meaning inherent in this statement: when it really comes down to the wire, you are the only one that can guarantee your own right to freedom, safety, and prosperity. Adams was not advocating that the United States refrain from engaging the world, but that the government remember while doing so that it serves American citizens rather than foreigners.

Also, see Charles Glass: Decades of foreign bumbling push Syrians towards war - The National