And for ‘me’, read the United States of America.
According to Ramzy Mardini, someone who knows (caution – NY Times possible paywall):
The Syrian revolution isn’t democratic or secular; the more than 90,000 fatalities are the result of a civil war, not a genocide — and human rights violations have been committed on both sides.
Moreover, the rebels don’t have the support or trust of a clear majority of the population, and the political opposition is neither credible nor representative. Ethnic cleansing against minorities is more likely to occur under a rebel-led government than under Mr. Assad; likewise, the possibility of chemical weapons’ falling into the hands of terrorist groups only grows as the regime weakens.
And finally, a rebel victory is more likely to destabilize Iraq and Lebanon, and the inevitable disorder of a post-Assad Syria constitutes a greater threat to Israel than the status quo.
Mardini concludes:
Syria is like Iraq. But worse.
You can have wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, or democracy. But you cannot have both.
Whatever Works 
Three cheers for the cannibals! Now that we’re going to send weapons to the rebels, all Americans should support them…
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Don’t you love that phrase “the rebels”? Even they don’t know who all the ‘rebel’ groups are.
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Yet in spite of that, McCain and Cheney want to arm them asap. Sheesh.
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I have to admit I have become completely cynical about that region of the world. It is filled with groups of people who kill each other and will continue to kill each other while we’re there and after we leave. When we interject ourselves into one of these countries, we end up paying the price in human lives and money, and nothing actually gets better.
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At its heart brat, the most significant and dangerous conflict in the Middle East (except Israel/Arab) is the sectarian fight between Sunni and Shia. They have been at it for hundreds of years and lately it’s really blossomed into genuine conflict. There is absolutely NO way we can improve things right now.
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Yep. I am completely pessimistic (even more than I usually am) about any intervention from us over there. It’ll be the same as Iraq–we’ll just barely keep things under control, at great cost to us, and then the place will explode all over again the minute we go.
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I’m in complete agreement with Mardini’s assessment and with the other commenters here, the situation is indeed like Iraq, only worse. Saddam was at least keeping a forced peace between the Shiites and Sunnis. Now, how grateful to us are the Shiites that we overturned Saddam’s Sunni regime and allowed their majority to assume power? It’s absurd to even ask the question, isn’t it? So to think that some faction of the Syrian rebels is going to cozy up to us when the dust settles is just as laughable. And yet, it has gotten intolerable to watch Russia propping up an ally of Iran and Hezbollah, potentially tipping the balance of power in the entire Middle East in the wrong direction. It’s like watching a car crash in slow motion. This is how it works. Peter, Paul and Mary – how appropriate, Moe.
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As you well know Jim, the tragic irony of Iraq is how they’ve now aligned with Iran. I hope Cheney, Wolfowitz et al are proud. We hear about Iran supporting Hezbollah – wanna bet lots of Iraqis are doing the same? And the Saudis support the ‘rebels’ . . . aaagghhh. My great fear is for Turkey with this stuff all along their border.
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