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More than 70 Syrian rebels were killed in an around the Syrian capital of Damascus earlier this week in one of the worst setbacks to the opposition movement against President Bashar Al-Assad.

British PM David Cameron referred to the current situation as a “stalemate” even as the number of fatalities since the war began has now exceeded 93,000.

More than a million Syrian refugees have crossed the border into neighboring countries and present a growing regional problem.

Part of the reluctance on the part of Western leaders to aid the rebels is their contention that Islamist factions have had increasing influence over the rebel forces.

Here in the US, the Obama administration has been exploring a number of military options in light of the revelation that the Assad regime has used chemical weapons.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Martin Dempsey this week, in an open letter to US Senators outlined five options including no-fly zones and military strikes but warned that elected officials must learn from the debacles in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Meanwhile a UN delegation has just arrived in Damascus to investigate the allegations of chemical weapons use.

GUEST: James Paul, Author of Syria Unmasked, and former executive director of Global Policy Forum, a think tank that monitors the UN