can't do this but perhaps like mr. gowan said, the european countries or the u.s. can maybe do that. and kind of equalize the playing field for them. >> mr. schaffer, the likelihood somebody will step in to do that? >> there's been some discussion about whether saudi arabia's already begun doing this. i think there was some suspicion and comments that they weren't. people discussed this. i think the largest concern on the part of the united states and other people is what exactly the rebels are. it's very confusing exactly who the groups are involved in the rebels that apparently it's a very fragments movement. it's not consolidated. there are suspicions that a number of islamic extremists, terrorist groups are participating in support gget the rebel movement. so if you arm the rebels the question is where do those arms end up and who are you supporting? i don't know the answer to those. i'm not an expert on syria or the dynamics of that, but i do know that there are questions and concerns and that is contributing to some of the hesitation. >> dan's next from biloxi

mr. gowani want to start with you. as the -- as the association's director out there at n.y.u., start us off with some perspective on the role and mission of the united nations and how it sort of developed in what its mission is going to be. guest: the u.n. is playing a huge role in international security at the moment. it has over 100,000 peacekeepers worldwide, stablizing countries ranging from haiti to liberia and it's been playing a significant role in the global response to the arab spring. it sent civilian experts to help reconstruct libya and now, as you say, it's in the thick of the conflict in syria. first, this is hard work and the u.n. is sometimes struggling. there are cases such as sudan and south sudan where u.n. peacekeepers don't seem able to stop wars from reigniting and the u.n. mission in syria when -- which is actually pretty tiny, less than 100 people on the ground doesn't seem capable of halting the ongoing repression there so a time of great activity and great successes t