America's president, Barack Obama, is not the only person in two minds about potential American strikes against Syria. In the wake of his decision last weekend to defer the matter to congress, Syrians, both in Syria and abroad, remain divided over the desirability of such action.

Saudi Arabia and Qatar have reportedly plugged billions of dollars in arms over the course of the Syrian conflict, emerging as the main foreign powers bankrolling the revolt. But amid the West’s hesitation this week over launching a military strike to punish Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad, indicators suggest the Gulf states have been shooting blanks. Analysts now believe a portion of Gulf finances could have been better spent on a global anti-Assad/ pro-intervention public relations (PR) campaign.

As I think of Syria today, two neighborhoods of Damascus are on my mind. One is Yarmouk, a neighborhood of mostly Palestinian refugees and their descendants. When I think of the "the camp," as it was so often called, I don't usually think of the fact that its population has shrunk to a fraction of the 112,000 people that once lived in that 0.8 square-mile space. I don't think about allegations of a little-reported chemical attack there last July. I don't think about the shelling and crushing of homes.

China’s gaffe-prone media are at it again – this time regarding the U.S. government’s military action in Syria. According to a report published by the South China Morning Post, yesterday China Radio International put together a photo gallery that was intended to show worldwide protests against military intervention in Syria. However, the international radio broadcaster overlooked one photo that clearly features people protesting China instead.

Here’s some news that will probably get buried amid the debates on Syria in the House of Representatives today. The Swedish Migration Board earlier announced that all Syrian refugees will be granted permanent residence. This means that the 8,000 Syrians who have currently been granted asylum on a temporary basis, together with any of the millions of currently displaced Syrians who can make it to Sweden, will be able to settle there and bring their families.

Australia is offering moral support for a U.S. military strike in Syria while New Zealand said Monday it needs more information after U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry personally called each country's foreign minister. Kerry has been trying to secure at least some international support for a potential U.S. strike after accusing the Syrian government of launching a chemical weapons attack.

My heart is in my throat. I haven't taken a full breath for 24 hours. On the horizon is the sight I'd been hoping to avoid: black flags and men in smocks with AK-47s slung casually over their shoulders—which means a checkpoint manned by jihadist fighters from the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham, a.k.a. ISIS, a.k.a. the latest and most feared incarnation of al-Qaeda in Syria.