An Argument For US Intervention In Syria

It's no secret that the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Syria has failed. The UN is closing down its observer mission this weekend. They're packing up and leaving the capital Damascus.

One UN official expressed the frustration over the bloodshed that's left an estimated 20,000 people dead since it started about 17 months ago: He said, "Both sides have chosen war."

Meanwhile, the regime of President Bashar al-Assad continues to pound the opposition with air strikes and shelling. And there is a growing chorus of voices calling for foreign intervention.

Bartle Bull is a former editor of Prospect Magazine and a founder of Northern Gulf Partners, an Iraq-focused investment firm.

He writes in the New York Times:

The balance of power that currently favors Mr. Assad could easily be overturned. Providing the rebels with as few as 500 stinger missiles and 1,000 tank-busting R.P.G-7's could potentially cut the conflict's length in half.