The West’s options in Syria; will Canada get involved?

After two years on the sidelines, it appears that the West is poised to intervene in the ongoing civil war in Syria.

As part of a narrative that is advancing quickly, Syria's Assad regime, on Sunday, agreed to let United Nations' inspectors into Damascus to investigate a suspected chemical weapons attack that is reported to have killed hundreds of people.

The U.S. suspects that the Syrian government was behind the attack and isn't buying their current concession.

"At this juncture, any belated decision by the regime to grant access to the U.N. team would be considered too late to be credible, including because the evidence available has been significantly corrupted as a result of the regime's persistent shelling and other international actions over the last five days," a senior U.S. official told the Reuters news service.

[ Related: Syria lets U.N. inspect gas attack site, Washington says too late ]

Reuters cites telephone calls between world leaders — over the past two days — as evidence that the West is serious about some form of intervention.

According to the Canadian Press, Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper even got into the action with phone conversations with British Prime Minister David Cameron and French President Francois Hollande.

[ Related: US official: 'Little doubt' Syria used chemical weapons to attack its people last week ]

So what are the West's options if, and when, they choose to intervene?

Kenneth Pollack, a Middle East Policy expert at the Brookings Institute, laid out all the options in a paper published earlier this month:

Pollack concludes that what ever action takes place, it must be significant enough to affect the military balance on the ground.

"There is a growing recognition that the Syrian civil war is now dominated by its military dimension, and until there is a breakthrough on the battlefield, there will be no breakthroughs at the negotiating table," he wrote.

"Unfortunately, that seems a distant prospect. Both sides remain convinced that they can defeat the other in combat, and both are terrified that losing will mean their physical destruction. For the foreseeable future, however, it is unlikely that either has the capacity to vanquish the other, although they can certainly make important tactical gains. Both would need considerable assistance to win outright.

"Consequently, bringing an end to the conflict in Syria must start with changing the military dynamics of the conflict. As long as the current conditions persist, the war will drag on."

Whatever they do, the West will have to tread lightly.

There's questions with regard to whether an opposition led coalition would actually lead to long-term peace.

And, on Sunday, Syrian, Russian and Iranian officials issued warnings against the U.S. against a military intervention.

Canada's role:

To date, Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird has insisted that Canada's prefers a political solution over a military solution.

But George Sabra, the head of Syria’s main opposition group, intends to ask for more when he meets with Baird later this week. According to the Canadian Press, Sabra will urge the Canadian government to be a stronger international voice for action.

[ Related: Syrian opposition leader to press for more Canadian help in meeting with Baird ]

Would Canada's military be involved in a Syrian mission?

Earlier this year, Yahoo! Canada News canvassed the opinions of three experts: each suggested Canada would be involved to some extent as part of a potential NATO or UN mission.

Christian Leprecht, associate professor of political science at the Royal Military College of Canada and Queen’s University,however, believes the Harper government will take a much more guarded approach than they did in Libya.

"I think Canada took a bold stand when it came to Libya. I think Canada was disappointed by how few countries, when push came to shove, stepped up to help," he said.

"I think we're going to take the American approach and lead from behind. We're going to be trying to get concerted action among allies."

[ Related: Obama weighs possible military response after Syria chemical attack ]

Since the Syrian conflict began in 2011, more than 100,000 people have been killed, and nearly 2 million refugees have been forced to flee to neighbouring countries.

(Photo courtesy of Reuters)

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