Comments on Syria

I’ve run across a couple of pieces that do an excellent job explaining Syria. 

http://www.crisisgroup.org/en/regions/middle-east-north-africa/iraq-syria-lebanon/syria/109-popular-protest-in-north-africa-and-the-middle-east-vii-the-syrian-regimes-slow-motion-suicide.aspx

The International Crisis Group has become a major source for understanding current conflicts around the world, combining good analysis with policy proposals.  They have enough street cred that their reports are read in policy making circles. 
http://www.merip.org/mero/mero081011

Middle East Research and Information Project is a little edgier than the ICG.  Their stuff typically begins with good analysis but does not always make a clear separation between understanding why things are the way they are and prescribing how things ought to be.  Their work topically has a “progressive”  bias that is a refreshing balance to the usual conventional wisdom.