After Israel's air strikes, how can we end the civil war in Syria?

We probably can't, says Thomas Friedman. Not easily, anyway:

"“I believe if you want to end the Syrian civil war and tilt Syria onto a democratic path, you need an international force to occupy the entire country, secure the borders, disarm all the militias and midwife a transition to democracy. It would be staggeringly costly and take a long time, with the outcome still not guaranteed.”

His column is a dose of realism for a conflict that may have no immediate solution. Over on Forbes.com, Doug Bandow is even more emphatic:

"The Syrian civil war will end badly. Unfortunately, the U.S. can’t make it end any better. Washington should stay out of the conflict".