Cutting off the head of the serpent

With Moscow as intransigent as Damascus in the wake of the Houla massacre, the Russian foreign minister going as far to indict western countries as responsible for the bloodshed when he knows full well his government is up to its ankles in that flowing from the dying innocent, diplomacy has hit a brick wall.  To send troops into Syria though is not only politically impossible for the west, with a looming US presidential election and penury at home, but unwise, since the intervening troops will be blamed by both sides for every misstep they make.  The only solution that I can see available to stop or at least mitigate the number of atrocities is targeted assassinations.

I’m not in favour of capital punishment for I find it expensive, prone to miscarriages of justice and, most importantly, reduces us to the barbaric nature of those being executed since the motive is a heedless thirst for vengeance.  Deterrence is nowhere.  Yet, in the case of Syria, pre-emptive extrajudicial killings of the elite would hamper its ability to murderously prosecute its own civilians.  Take out Bashar al-Assad, his brother Maher and several hardline generals and watch the government descend into chaos, maybe even a power struggle between those left at the top.  I am convinced many lives would be saved by this strategy.  It could be done covertly by Navy SEALS or the CIA and then a rebel Syrian faction could be persuaded to take the credit, the truth emerging only 50 years later.  Maybe some intrepid divers could attach limpet mines to Russian warships or arms supply ships in the port of Tartus for good measure.