But what are we/they actually trying to do?
On day or week one, this might have helped get rid of Dear Colonel.
Now?
The ostensible objective merely prolongs a bloody war, and there will still be a purge of the losers.
Granted, Dear Colonel richly deserves to be purged. And I really do feel bad for the rebels who exhibited the courage to stand up to the Dear Colonel and his goons. And I really do feel bad that some of the rebels were naive enough to think that the rest of the world would act decisively in their favor.
But isn't taking out the air defenses (partially crippling one side) essentially stalemating the conflict into prolonged bloodletting with reprisals and purges deferred, not averted?