Relating to Syria:Not a blog or article authored by me (see link above), however, it puts into perspective the USA's own 4 year civil war....where experts estimate (and no one really knows, or can know...) 100,000 to 250,000 CIVILIAN DEATHS were caused by the war--the vast majority being in the South. Some historians estimate that as many as 50,000 civilians died of starvation as a result of Sherman's march to the sea alone.