Chinese veto of the Arab League-backed proposal in the UN Security Council denouncing the Syrian regime has provided Bashar Al-Assad with some breathing space which he is using to continue the brutal crackdown on the Syrian people. The good news is that the veto did not prevent the international community and Arab countries from finding alternative ways to denounce the Syrian regime. At least 137 member countries of the UN General Assembly approved the Arab plan which called on Al-Assad to step down and denounced the massacre of the Syrian people. But this resolution will be ineffective unless Damascus ceases its bloody military assault. It seems a political solution to the Syrian crisis is not on the horizon. Despite world condemnation of its irrational actions, the Al-Assad regime has decided to escalate its military assault in the centers of protests, particularly in the city of Homs. It seems that the regime is telling the Syrian people that there will be no letup in the brutal assault until they stop their protests and abandon their demand for the setting up of a democratic government.The renewed violence came a day after Sergey Lavrov, the Russian Minister for Foreign Affairs, left Damascus. The Friends of Syria will hold a conference in Tunisia on February 24 with the support of the UN General Assembly. The meeting will find ways to help the Syrian opposition in its fight against Al-Assad's regime and may recognize the National Syrian Council as a legitimate representative of the Syrian people. The Council has decided to finance the Free Syrian Army and form a military committee to oversee the technical and financial affairs of the army. World recognition of the National Syrian Council as the legitimate representative of the Syrian people will give the opposition more strength to pressure the regime to give up power. It will also be easier for the international community to channel financial help - and even military assistance - to the opposition so that the Syrian people may eventually triumph over the Al
