There was yet another suicide bombing in Damascus today. Maysaloon suggests the weight of the evidence points to regime plot:
If people were more cautious about laying the blame last time, there seems to be no hesitation in blaming the regime for this morning's bomb blast in Damascus. Syrian television, with grisly voyeurism, appears to be relishing showing the blood and death that are the by-products of such bombings.
Why are these bombings happening on a Friday? Why have they only started happening now that the Arab League observers are in Syria? So many questions and too few answers. I think the finger of blame can also go the other way, and whilst the regime could plausibly be behind the attacks, we cannot rule out rogue elements in the opposition. The fact that only hours beforehand, Colonel Riad al Asaad had warned of further attacks against the regime, has only stoked the fires of propaganda against the Free Syrian Army. Yet the fact remains, why would a suicide bomber carry out such attacks with such timing and limited success, when there are enormous pro-regime demonstrations that are held in the Ummayad square or in Aleppo?
Dan Murphy is skeptical. The Economist has a clear summary of the general state of the conflict for the past month or so, including stronger calls from the opposition for intervention. Daniel Serwer takes stock of opposition leader Burhan Ghalioun's new contingency plan of “an international conference on Syria to stop the atrocities and the killings:”
I wonder whether this is an idea worth exploring, admittedly out of desperation. So far, the Russians and Chinese have stymied the UN Security Council. It is much harder for them to stymie an international conference, where there is no formal veto and a good deal of pressure to come up with a consensus statement. The Iranians may even be tiring of what Bashar al Assad is costing them. If the Syrian government refuses to attend, as well it might, that would enable the SNC to speak for the Syrian people.
Marc Tracy explains why the Assad regime is so important to Iran. Hassan Haider wonders about the future of Syria-Lebanese relations after the current crisis. This music video, an adaptation of a traditional folk song, also manages to compile a number of clips of repression and protest:
Here's an enormous protest in Homs:
And another big one in Idlib asking for international help:
The Dish 