It remains to be seen whether Al Qaeda has truly infiltrated the ranks of the Free Syrian Army. Then again, it hardly matters whether FSA insurgents are carrying Al Qaeda business cards -- despite reassurances by US officials, it is clear from video footage that opposition to the Syrian regime has coalesced around jihadists. There is no meaningful opposition from liberal democrats, a unicorn-like species in this part of the world.

This fact does not in any way excuse the brutality of the Syrian regime, whose bloodthirsty ways were well-established decades before international media started paying attention. But after Tunisia, Egypt and Libya, we should not be under any illusions about the inevitable outcome: when Bashar Al Assad is gone, theocratic fascism will reign.

Jonathon Narvey is the Editor of The Propagandist