Sunzi would be proud.

You seem to be suggesting that the Syrian quagmire is good because it’s good for the US.

I completely agree with the above! (We might disagree about Gnon, but I certainly agree on your political analysis). Now, the weakest die first in the jungle. As it goes in the animal kingdom, so it goes in the world of man. Syria continues to fall apart because the structure of the Syrian state was weak. The technology, the political motivations, the people running the state, and the people being ruled no longer worked together. Spengler’s “How Civilizations Die” is oddly prescient with regards to the fundamental breakdowns.

Lest I be accused of an original thought, here is quote worth pondering:

“Since you know as well as we do that right, as the world goes, is only in question between equals in power, while the strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must.”

I love the Melian dialogue:)

From my little perspective the Cathedral neither really understands what is going on nor has the ability to respond. So long as Israel does not end up in the mix, I doubt that the Cathedral will do much except report about it. Of course, a large scale humanitarian “crises” might engender enough support to blow up the rest of the Syrian state in the name of peace and order.