The US has closed down its embassy in Syria and pulled all of its employees out of the country, amid reports that the Syrian military is intensifying its assault on the central city of Homs.

via US closes embassy in Syria – Middle East – Al Jazeera English.

This is usually one of the final steps before an attack. If the Security Council doesn’t act in the next few weeks, I fully expect action under someone else’s banner. If I was to put a time table on it, I would say sometime towards the end of this month, beginning of next.