the region. these are not far fetched scenarios. two years ago, president assad is believed to have transferred rockets and scud missiles to hezbollah in lebanon. shep: all this talk of a government collapse. do we know anything about these rebels? do we have some sort of diplomatic channels with them or relations or anything? we do. a state department official said today that u.s. diplomats are engaged in, quote, intense and ongoing dialogue with the syrian opposition. top rebel commander told reporters today that the revolution was an orphan where the west is concerned. so the spokesman here reminded the rebels that the millions of dollars in communication equipment and other nonlethal aid that washington has provided them. the ranking democrat on the house armed services committee today rejected suggestions from republican lawmakers that president obama should have done more. there are no great option in syria. what could we do at this point? there are many different faction