Frontline states like Lebanon, Iraq, and Jordan will notmanage to remain aloof from a disintegrating Syria.

It has the responsibility for international peace and security and cannot remain aloof from the material conditions surrounding that mission.

Now everyone tries to play “total football” – except the English, who “typically” remain aloof from foreign ideas.

No doubt words will be found to describe those who remain aloof from this coalition, but one term that most assuredly will not be used to describe them is “multilateralist”.

The ILC has, to a large degree, remained aloof from human rights and left the promotion and formulation of human rights to specialist universal and regional human rights bodies.

On the other hand, when Arab public opinion opposed Palestinian concessions, Mubarak remained aloof from US peaceinitiatives. For example, in 1996, he declined President Bill Clinton’s invitation to come to Washington, along with Arafat andthe leaders of Israel and Jordan, to settle a bout of Palestinianviolence. And when Clinton asked Mubarak to pressure Arafat tofacilitate an Israeli- Palestinian peace deal during negotiations at Camp David in 2000, he refused.