Syrian Protesters Request International Help For the First Time..."If the regime refuses it will open the door on itself for other action, such as no-tank or no-fly zones," he said.
Syrian protesters have been chanting slogans calling for international protection but there has been no hint in the West of anappetite for a repeat of NATO air strikes that played a key role in the fall of Libyan strongman Muammar Gaddafi.
No country has proposed the kind of intervention in Syria, such as a UN mandate to protect civilians, that NATO aircraft have carried out in Libya because of major geo-political risks.
Unlike Libya, Syria straddles the fault lines of Middle East conflict; it has powerful allies such as Iran and clout in volatile Lebanon and Iraq.