The U.S., France, the UK, Germany, Australia and several other Western countries expelled Syrian diplomats from their capitals today in a coordinated protest to last week’s killings of 108 in the town of Houla . . . the UN said the dead included 34 women and 49 children . . . many of the victims were shot at close range or stabbed . . . the Syrian government has denied responsibility, blaming armed terrorist groups . . . Russia continues to stand by the Assad regime and warned the West against using the Houla massacre “as a pretext for taking military measures” . . . as serious as the Houla killings are, the West still lacks both the will and a plan to address the Syria crisis . . . Russia also seems determined to continue to block action against the Assad regime by the UN.