The death toll in Syria has now surpassed the 450 mark, and Bahrain has now sentenced four demonstrators to death.

Syria is not Libya. Bahrain is not Libya either. When the UN decided to approve Resolution 1973, it was taking action against a regime that was isolated, and bar potential terrorist attacks in the future, posed no immediate danger to surrounding countries.

Syria and Bahrain are different. Bahrain is friendly to the US, and is also a tiny buffer state between Iran and the Middle East. Saudi Arabia (the world’s biggest oil producer) has intervened and sent troops to help the Bahraini government restore ‘order’. In the meantime, the UN and the world stands by as four people are sentenced to death – all because they dared speak up.

Syria is an even bigger can of worms. Syria, with links to terrorist organisations sits right on Israel’s doorstep. It is estimated that some 450 people have already been killed in violence there, and aside from a few slaps on the wrist by the British government, no one seems to even want to bring the subject up.

While Syria is certainly not Libya, we ask what is different in the treatment of its civilians. The Syrian government, headed by Bashar al-Assad, has ordered tanks and troops onto the streets and live ammunition has been used. Whether tank rounds have been fired, has not yet been established. But it is clear that the Syrian military has been used to kill people, repress demonstrations and more.

Embassies are now clearing out staff, and many countries have advised against travelling to Syria. Disappearances have become normal, as have beatings and torture. The international press cannot get into Syria, and foreign nationals are being rounded up and arrested.

One very pertinent point to note is that while Bashar al-Assad appears to be the man at the helm, there are a great many different power struggles within the Baathist regime. It is doubtful that al-Assad could muster the support of the army single-handedly.

While Syria’s military is not as modern and as well-equipped as anything the west has to offer, it is still a potent threat – much more so than the troops of Gaddafi. In addition, many nations are becoming squeamish. With the UN already occupied with striking Gaddafi’s military in the deserts of Libya, one could hardly imagine that enough assets could be mustered to even police the airspace over the country.

Moreover, with the stalemate that now seems to be the order of the day in the Maghreb, Western nations are beginning to doubt their policy of intervention, with many analysts saying that it simply does not work.

Whatever the case may be, the UN set a precedent in Libya, one which members do not seem all too keen to follow up on. Unfortunately, it seems the European Spring was a one-off. It was only a couple of decades earlier that Eastern Europe brutally put down calls for reform – we will never even know the true death toll. Throughout history, uprisings and rebellions have always resulted in death and atrocities. While we wish things were different, the Arab revolutions will be no different.