I hope no one seriously expected the cease-fire in Syria to actually hold. Both the Assad government and the Free Syrian Army found the prospect of a breather to be in their interest. Otherwise they would not have agreed to it.

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The cease-fire barely had a chance, though. None of the outstanding issues that led to the conflict in the first place have been resolved. Assad wants to maintain his power and his enemies want regime-change. There’s no splitting that difference. The two sides are not going to work this out Dr. Phil style. One will win and the other will lose.

The UN is sending an observer force. Good. We need more eyes on the ground. The regime won’t let journalists in. The previous Arab League observer force was led by a Sudanese war criminal. But these people will be observing conflict, not peace. Homs was shelled today. The cease-fire did not even last through the weekend.