In the same week that witnessed the fall of Homs in the hands of the Assad regime both the U.S. and the UK announced a resumption of non-lethal aid to the Syrian rebels. While this is a highly symbolic move towards an opposition desperate for any kind of support, it is also symbolic in that it is unlikely to affect the balance of power on the ground. The U.S. and UK contribution is dwarfed into insignificance when compared to military, economic, logistic and diplomatic support that the regime gets from its allies, mainly Iran and Russia. The truce in Homs is a clear consequence of failing Western support to the opposition and the full support that the regime gets from its allies.
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The Homs truce is a consequence of failing Western support to the opposition, writes Nadim Shehadi
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Russia provides economic and military assistance to the Syrian regime, he says
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Shehadi : The situation is similar to that in Iraq in 1991 when an uprising was encouraged by Washington
The strain on the @placeholder economy is unsustainable and there are already Iranian dissident voices blaming involvement in Syria for a large part of the country's economic problems.