Seemingly, the Arab spring before it blossoms in Syria has been hardly hit due to harsh social and political weather there. When the uprising started 14 months ago, it got the global attention. Everybody around the world was feeling sympathy with demonstrators. Moreover, the time was ripe and much exposed to change, because the wave of the so-called spring was tough enough to challenge the pillars of all regional authoritarian regimes.

The success of demonstrators in Tunisia, Egypt and their superiority in Bahrain, Yemen, and Libya all were good source of psychological fuel to set the Syrian demonstrators on the roller-coaster of opposition to Bashar-al-Assad regime.

Thanks to NATO-led "a kind of military intervention" in Libya which sparked criticisms of human rights activists but remained generally unheard because the outcome of the intervention supported the status of anti-Moammar Gaddafi regime's oppositions.

While in the two other countries—Yemen and Bahrain—the movements took a different path due to regional differences. Initially, in Bahrain protestors marched to streets to ask for socio-economic and political reforms, with no visible bias to particular sect. but unfortunately, the regional arrangement of power that also on the basis of clear sectarian line turned the movement upside down. Demands got stinky and one sect just retreated and the other put step ahead.

A similar story was repeated with minor differences in the case of Yemen; tribal bondage was far stronger than religious ties and the demonstrators failed to form an uprising with national characteristic.

As a result, civil uprising receded with no visible achievements. So, the failure of civil unrest in the three above mentioned countries indeed caused Mr. President Bashar al-Assad to a see a glimpse of light at the end of long tunnel of the time. From the very start, the regime responded with clenched fist and branded them as terrorists. The regime showed no flexibility against demonstrators and used all its force to suppress them. The situation became gruesomely dangerous when the international community failed to take a joint front against Damascus.

Drafts prepared mostly by European countries for tougher action and were vetoed twice in the United Nations Security Council by China and Russia which feared the consequences. In other words, after both countries—China and Russia—grudgingly accepted to avoid exercising their veto right in the UNSC in the case of Libya. The resolution paved the way for foreign military intervention. The mission from protecting civilians was changed into outstation of Moammar Gaddafi.

So, in order not to undergo similar situation, Chinese and Russian officials dealt with Syrian regime with much more caution. They refused to approve drafts which indirectly paved the way for military intervention. Moreover, the Libyan mission was not carried completely with visible victory. It continued for months and imposed cost on the already economic-slowdown and a stroke on military budget. So, it is clear that comparing Libya with Syria is a blunt mistake because the regime of President Assad is far powerful and also interconnected with countries like Iran and groups like Hezbollah.

Thus, considering the challenges, it is far likely for anti-Assad countries to start a war against Damascus. In another word, the United States is engaged in a corrosive war against Taliban-led militants in Afghanistan and just pulled out of Iraq; clearly, it does not have the will to start another war in such crisis ridden region. Without the US, it is far likely that its European allies embark to such financially and humanitarianly costly war.

The regional rivalry among countries is also something that cannot be neglected assessing the ongoing situation in Syria. Tehran has been supporting Presiden Assad since the very start of civil uprising. The supreme leader who is the ultimate decision maker in the country, Mr. Ayatollah Ali Khamenae often openly voiced out support for Damascus regime while condemning other regimes; reacted similarly in the case of uprising breakout. While insisting that Arab countries are affected by more than 30-years old Islamic revolution in Iran, he links civil unrest in Syria to foreign intervention.

Therefore, the so-called proxy war and the dominant presence of Allawites, a minority that can hardly be branded as part of Shiite group, have further complicated the situation. See for instance, the
Thursday's suicide bombings that shook the Damascus; the two suicide bombings which left more than 55 dead and more than three hundred injured were claimed by a group named al-Nusra. Al-Nusra is a hardliner Sunni group which is believed to have close links with Al-Qaeda. If the allegation is true, we would observe further violence and bloodsheds.

According the United Nations reports, around 9000 people are killed since the start of uprising more than a year ago, and around 800 people killed in period after ceasefire accord mediated by joint Arab-UN representative, Mr. Kofi Annan. The ceasefire has not helped least to peace and instability. With the presence of Arab monitoring mission, available reports denote on severe clashes between minor armed opposition and security forces.

"Rebels fought the army in northern Syria on Saturday, activists said, and Syrian dissidents abroad gathered to try to unify and project themselves as a credible alternative to President Bashar al-Assad". "The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported fighting in Idlib province, on Syria's northern border with Turkey and a hotspot of the 14-month-old revolt against Assad's rule."Violent clashes are raging between Syrian regime forces and armed military defectors ... The sounds of strong explosions were heard followed by security forces using heavy and medium machinegun fire," the British-based Observatory said".

Seemingly, all stakeholders are tittering up and down to find a solution to the deadlock but there is nothing to count on much. But this is Syrian people who ultimately shoulder all the burdens of continuous instability and unrest.