From the Guardian: Why did everyone forget about Syria when Gaza started?

[Comrade Grumpy]

4. We've had a dog in that fight from the get go.

US policy is that Assad must go. (I won't even beg the question of why the US gets to decide who runs other countries.)

For several years, we ran a two-track operation against Syria. First, we tried to cobble together an actual opposition political coalition, which has been a bad joke all along. Second, the CIA has been quietly cooperating with our buddies in Jordan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar in training and arming "good rebels."

Now, Obama wants $500 million for more overt assistance to the "good rebels."

This is a cynical and bloody-handed policy. It is designed to "pressure" Assad to negotiate his own exit by prolonging the conflict and getting more Syrians killed. The "good rebels" have already lost strategically.

And then there's Iraq.

I think these conflicts are too headache-inducing for most people to even want to think about them. Also, we seem to be interested only when there is US involvement in the headlines.