A look at some of the reports from independent journalists, aid workers and a handful of U.N. inquiries shows no evidence of Assad committing genocide against his own people. Rather most of the atrocities committed since June 2011 can be laid squarely at the feet of the Al Qaeda based foreign backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) rebel groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood, Farouq, and Al Nusra. It is these groups which are now being labelled “moderate rebels” and which the U.S. now seeks to arm against Islamic State.

How long will the U.N. charter of non-interference hold up in the face of this convenient new threat? It’s true the Iraqi government, such as it is, has pleaded for western support against the onslaught of Islamic State, but don’t be fooled. So far as the 2003 invasion is concerned it’s mission accomplished. With the job of removing Saddam Hussein and destabilising Iraq now complete, save for establishing a permanent Kurdish state, our work in Iraq is done. It’s time now to move on to our next target – Syria.

As the dust of history settles it’s interesting to watch the official narrative take shape. Saddam was by all accounts a monster, but his Baath party were seen as a secular, pluralist government, and let’s face it, it was the U.S. which put him in power in the first place. The 2003 invasion of Iraq is now universally acknowledged as an illegal war based on a false premise. In time I’m sure the same will be said of Libya.

Let’s not forget that while the great western democracies are used to knife edge elections, just like Gaddafi in Libya, Bashar al Assad has the overwhelming support of his people. Abbott likes to talk about his mandate, as though a 2% to 3% electoral swing can really be called a landslide victory. Perhaps he should consider this: Assad was democratically elected by an 88% majority and still enjoys the popular support of most Syrians.

Islamic State has its roots in Syria and it’s pretty bloody obvious that the only player with any real hope of defeating them is the Syrian Arab Army. If ‘degrading and destroying’ Islamic State is the true objective of the current intervention, then the most logical way to achieve this outcome is by supporting the Syrian government. (I refuse to refer to them as the Assad regime.) Otherwise, what the hell are we doing? Fixing the mess we created in the first place, or simply repeating it?

Will we follow the US into Syria? Undoubtedly. What will be the result? Another bloody mess? Another failed state where terror groups are allowed to operate freely? Already this conflict has created 11.5 million refugees. How many more will there be? Since the end of WWII 90% of all war casualties have been civilians. What will the death count be this time around? What will be the ‘collateral damage’? More to the point, why is nobody talking about the elephant in the room? As new geo-political alliances are forged, what will be the ultimate result of creating such a formidable enemy right on Israel’s doorstep? Or was this part of the plan all along?