The long term practical solution to the Syria conflict is to create a federal state. The different tribal regions each have sovereignty over their own area and they can chose their own leader ( Assad included if the Alawaites want him ) so most the power is in the hand of the locals in their own regions but not all. There are laws that are decided at a federal level and there could be certain qualifications a person must meet if they have if they want to be considered as candidates for national politics. If the Alawaites wanted to keep Assad as their leader they could but he would not be eligible to be their representative at a national level that way he will not be toppled which is what he supporters want but he won't be ruling over the people who want him out. That would allow for Assad to stay and a slow transition towards a democratic process.. End the revolution and go for an evolution. The alternative to evolution is Assad will eventually be toppled and then sectarian killing will start, we saw what happened when we got rid of the strong man in Iraq. In Germany after WW2 got rid of the Keiser and the power vacuum allowed the Nazis to rise to power. Democracy doesn't happen overnight and time for international community to stop dreaming about it. Egypt had the easiest transition of power from dictator to democracy and that lasted couple of years and now they are having a civil war and more people have been killed since they got rid of Mubarak than did during the initial uprising.

that they continue killing themselves till the end of time. It couldn't happen to a more deserving group.