Summary: The conflict in Syria is transfixing the Middle East, but it is transforming it too. Barbara Plett, the BBC's UN Correspondent, returns to her old patch in the Middle East to examine how the future of Syria could also shape the future of the region. She charts the influence of neighbouring states over the conflict in Syria, with the Gulf States, especially Saudi Arabia and newly assertive Qatar supporting the rebels. Meanwhile Iran and its allied Lebanese force, Hezbollah, are firmly behind the Syrian regime - and there's likely to be an increasing role for the new Arab democracies.
