What do you think is the end game in Syria?

[Mr. Morden]

I lean more towards pessimistic.  There's a good chance that Assad is out of Damascus within a few months, but the sectarian civil war continues for years after that.  It's not like Libya, which didn't have nearly as much of a sectarian component in the uprising.

Btw, Assad is clearing the way for an Alawite mini-state if it comes to that:

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/07/27/alawistan

But even if that happens, my guess is that the two sides keep killing each other for a long time to come, probably years, a la Iraq.

[Mr. Morden]

I don't see how partition actually solves the problem, since there will still be plenty of people in each party on the "wrong" side of the border, and the various parties will just keep fighting over borders.  Heck, look what's happening right now with South Sudan, and that's a case that was blessed by the UN.