Some thoughts on the reality of the situation and how likely it is to unfold.
I would like to start with establishing basic realities:
While for an individual, satisfaction is not based solely on successful results, for while results are important, good clear conscious is about trying one’s best. Although success is rewarding, trying sincerely to help clear’s the conscious. But in politics and business intentions are not enough, the only thing that really counts is results with that I mean winning, or your competition or enemy losing.
The reality is, a revolution is messy, long, painful and severe on the population. No one could make it work fast. So even if Assad was removed fast restoring peace and order to the country is going to be a long complicated process that outsiders will not be advised to take responsibility for.
What complicates it further is chemical weapons, try to get Assad out without making him use them and then finding a way after Assad falls to find them and get rid of them.
There is of course also the Russians, Iranians, Hezbollah, AlMalki and AlQaida to deal with.
There is a Democrat as president in the USA. Democratic Presidents have rarely been initiators or major movers on International conflicts. Usually very cautious on these issues, moving only with sufficient global consensus. Usually preferring remote combat missions using missiles, remote air strikes, rather than direct intervention. They normally would exhaust a situation with such tactics and politics’ until a republican comes for the kill and they come after that to clear the mess and pull out. Look at Iraq between 1st Gulf War and 2nd Gulf War, Bosnia, Libya and Afghanistan.
It is important to realize that the USA, France, Germany & many others in NATO can’t go all the way against the Russian’s today. They need Russian stable gas supplies to Western Europe (especially Germany), they need Russian collaboration in Africa (especially France). They need Russian collaboration to finish and exist Afghanistan (especially USA). They need Russia on North Korea and Iran.
Now if USA and Europe (1) need to handle Russia carefully (2) they understand that they don’t want to get bogged down in Syria for years as it settles down.(3) They need to be careful about chemical weapons use and retrieval. At the same time they realize that this war is helping achieve a number of benefits:
It is consuming the Iranians, Hezbollah and the Russians; weakening them and allowing them to bargain and settle on many other side issues (described above and others)
It is pitting the above enemies against AlQaida so two enemies are destroying each other.
Plus the Syrian war is taking all the fight out of Hezbollah, AlQaida, the Syrians and Iran. By the end of it, all parties will be exhausted weakened and will not be looking for another fight for a while.
Now a Democrat as a USA president, USA and Europe not wanting to pick a fight with Russia. All of them plus Israel enjoying watching all their enemies fighting and destroy each other’s capabilities and energies.
If getting bogged down in the internal politics of Syria after the fall of the system is nothing anyone wants to engage in. And if there is no way for them to win in Syria, if winning is defined as:
Get rid of the Dictator “Al Assad”, settle Syria in a peaceful and healthy stable nation. Avoid any use of chemical weapons and destroy all those weapons and not lose on Iran nuclear, N.Korea, Afghanistan and Africa.
What is their best option??
Well, they can win by consuming and weakening the Iranians, Hezbollah, AlQaida, and Russia. Get concessions from them on all other issues such as, Iran Nuclear issue, N.Korea, Afghanistan, Africa, etc. and after a fight that weakens them all, Assad falls and the Syrians get what they want. At that point, they can help with humanitarian aid, rebuilding cleaning the chemical weapons mess etc.
Conclusion is no one is in a hurry, the USA and Western Europe will help the Anti Government forces to make sure Assad does not win but that the war takes its time until the situation is ready for a solution and end without tipping the Russians into confrontation and getting them to collaborate on all the other fronts. Weaken Hezbollah and Iran drastically and in the meantime build a strong organized free Syrian Army that can take control of the country after the fall of Assad, a free Syrian Army that is well linked into USA and Western Europe working in close link with them and Turkey.
By that time, hopefully USA would be out of Afghanistan. N. Korea would be a little settled for a while at least. Iran would be exhausted and needing to refocus internally. Hezbollah is weakened, exposed and forced to retreat into a local political movement in Lebanon.
This looks to me to be the most realistic scenario………