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[Additional reporting by Tom Perry in Beirut, Khaled Yacoub Oweis in Amman and Ayman Samir in Cairo; Writing by Alistair Lyon; Editing by Angus MacSwan]

A wounded Free Syrian Army commander walks through rubble in the Salaheddine neighbourhood of central Aleppo August 11, 2012. [Credit: Reuters/Goran Tomasevic]

After watching Libyia, Egypt, Iran and the rest, I just have one question. Who is worse, the present governments or the other criminals who take over?

Yes they need a no-fly zone. Here are the rebels “flying” dead postal workers from the top of a building to joyous shouts of “Allahu Akbar!” as a crowd of savages rush closer to take cell phone pictures of their glorious victory: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aX82oQ7NgYo

My understanding is the no-fly would have already been established but for the Syrian (Russian supplied) air defenses which are too formidable.

I guess the Syrian rebels better get an air force. Oh, wait. Iran is on Assad’s side. Oops.

Bashar Assad, the ruler of Syria, is part of a religious community, the Alawites, who call themselves Muslims. And yet, even as a non-Muslim observer, I think it's a stretch to call Alawites Muslims, when they believe in Ali, not Allah, as well as reincarnation. Of course, outside of Muslim countries. they'd be seen as just another quirky religion, with the usual mystical references and beliefs. In Muslim countries, this kind of heterodox belief system is frequently cause for the persecution and massacre of its followers. That's also probably the reason Alawites are standing behind Assad - Sunni Arab rule may mean the extermination of Syria's several million-strong Alawite community. From the Global Security website:

The Alawi sect, which integrates doctrines from other religions -- in particular from Christianity -- arose from a split within the Ismailite sect. The Alawis appear to be descendants of people who lived in this region at the time of Alexander the Great. When Christianity flourished in the Fertile Crescent, the Alawis, isolated in their little communities, clung to their own preIslamic religion. After hundreds of years of Ismaili influence, the Alawis moved closer to Islam. However, contacts with the Byzantines and the Crusaders added Christian elements to the Alawis' new creeds and practices. For example, Alawis celebrate Christmas, Easter, and Epiphany.
Alawis claim they are Muslims, but conservative Sunnis do not always recognize them as such. Like Ismaili Shias, Alawis believe in a system of divine incarnation. Unlike Ismailis, Alawis regard Ali as the incarnation of the deity in the divine triad. As such, Ali is the "Meaning;" Muhammad, whom Ali created of his own light, is the "Name;" and Salman the Persian is the "Gate." Alawi catechesis is expressed in the formula: "I turn to the Gate; I bow before the Name; I adore the Meaning." An Alawi prays in a manner patterned after the shahada: "I testify that there is no God but Ali." (Very Monty Python-esque, almost as if it were lifted from the Life of Brian).
According to Alawi belief, all persons at first were stars in the world of light but fell from the firmament through disobedience. Faithful Alawis believe they must be transformed seven times before returning to take a place among the stars, where Ali is the prince. If blameworthy, they are sometimes reborn as Christians, among whom they remain until atonement is complete. Infidels are reborn as animals.
The Alawites believe that Muhammad was a usurper and that it was his brother who largely worked to create a different sect apart from Christianity and Judaism.

It's kind of bizarre that as much worry as many of us in the West have over Islam, that the Alawites, a non-Muslim sect described by real Muslims as heretics/apostates and who have rejected the parts of Islam we most dislike, is being vilified in favor of the violent Sunni fundamentalists who killed 3000 Americans on 9/11, and have killed 7000 GI's since then.