@milo the Russian support of Assad is not black and white. There are many EU and US officials who also wanted to back Assad when ISIS and the instability became apparent. He represented the best of a bad bunch as it were, and the only foundation of stability left. So Russia is not really acting as such a maverick as the western media/ politicians make out as many would have liked to have done the same and backed Assad.
It is a horribly complex mess, probably caused by other peoples interventions and funding. Turkey-PKK - both fighting common enemies, but also each other! US, Israel other middle east countries backing Syrian rebels, Russia backing Assad who's fighting ISIS and rebels. The worst thing is, it is all caused by outside interventions. The more the west and others intervene the more instability is caused. "Regime Change" may as well be called 'Anarchy Creation'.
As to solutions. The outcome is already, and will increasingly be, cold war like state policing. Everything potential terror candidates do will be analysed and watched. State run agencies will use new technologies to watch as never before. People will ask why the French were so behind the curve and while watching they let these things happen.
Really most elements of these awful events are not new. The Ottoman empire had suicidal soldiers, albeit more regimented. Terrorists have been placing bombs since they figured out how to rig explosives. What is new is the use of communication tools to orchestrate acts and recruit new fanatics. Governments have been slow to react to this. On one hand you have Snowden, liberty etc, on the other people want answers as to why such atrocities were not intercepted by intelligence.
