David Keen, in this 6 November 2013 op-ed in the New York Times, When ‘Do No Harm’ Hurts, makes an excellent point:

“…funding for humanitarian aid in Syria continues to fall far short of appeals, and opportunities for helping local councils and a variety of Syrian relief organizations continue to be missed. So too, crucially, does the opportunity for cross-border relief (notably from Turkey). As in most humanitarian emergencies, United Nations agencies have been putting their faith in delivering aid to rebel areas via government-held areas. But as happened so often in the past, the assumption of government cooperation has proved overly optimistic…