The conflict in Syria has gone beyond the point of no return. The rules of the game are Hama Rules; the regime views the contest in terms of us or them.

While Africa after de-colonialization has experienced many internal conflicts, there has been a puzzling lack of interstate wars. Why is this so? Given the historically rootless borders, lack of vital resources like water, and prevalence of dictatorships, one could have predicted that several African interstate wars would have taken place.