Use of Force in Syria

We will not be examining the international law relating to the use of force until the second half of the course. Nonetheless, you should be monitoring the events in Syria, and beginning to think about the issues. NATO members are readying for some kind of military intervention in Syria. The U.K. is seeking U.N. Security Council authority, which is unlikely to be forthcoming. Would a use of force in the absence of such authority be legal? The Arab League has not endorsed a use of force, which complicates the U.S. diplomatic position, but how important would such endorsement be from a legal perspective? And what is the significance of the use of chemical weapons? In other words, is it legally different from the other indiscriminate killing of civilians that has been carried out for over two years in Syria (and other countries for that matter), such that it provides some additional justification for intervention?