In reality, the ‘revolt’ in Syria, totally managed by foreign countries and their intelligence services, was a proxy war which only needed Syrians to serve as local color.
The US federal government is awash is ethical mechanisms but its enforcement record is poor - to the detriment of public trust and ultimately, democracy.
Unless we amend the Constitution to say that corporations are not people and that money is not speech, America will soon become a full-blown oligarchy.
The Egyptian army has deployed tanks outside the presidential palace in Cairo after six people died in clashes between supporters and opponents of President Mohamed Morsi.
Americans committed to a renewal of democracy are likely to discover this can only be meaningfully achieved in units of scale smaller than a continent.
A federal right to vote will effectively neuter politically-motivated state lawmakers and election officials who care less about a robust democracy and more about rigging elections.