Syria in crisis - Gas outrage cannot go unanswered

We all like to believe that we live in societies that try to behave decently, ones that try to observe basic standards of humanity and justice.

Of course it is possible to point to a litany of disappointments, domestic or international, that challenge that hope but, by and large, most of us are lucky enough to live in a society that stands on the right side of the divide.

It must be accepted, though, that the West’s self-satisfied view of itself is not always recognised around the world, especially in less developed countries — and very often with considerable justification.