Burhan Ghalioun, the leader of the Syrian National Council, Syria's main opposition group believes that the SNC today is a key player in forming world opinion and policy on how to deal with the Syria issue.

“Our main objective is finding mechanisms to protect civilians and stop the killing machine. If a humanitarian corridor is able to achieve this, then that is important. We think the use of these mechanisms collectively will help in weakening the regime,” Ghalioun said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal.

Asked whether all scenarios to oust President Bashar al-Assad entail foreign intervention, he noted that “it is imperative to use forceful measures to force the regime to respect human rights.”

“But this doesn't mean military intervention to topple the regime. This is different than the organized military intervention that happened in Iraq for regime change. We count on Syrians to bring down the Syrian regime. We want the international community to stop the oppression of the Syrian people,” Ghalioun said.

As to the opposition’s financial sources, he said: “Up until now, the council has been funded by donations from generous Syrian businessmen. We have been promised help from several Arab states. We are open to receiving donations. Among them are the Libyans for example. They don't have the liquidity now but they have pledged. Even counting donations inside Syria, around 90% are from businessmen.”