Syrian Opposition Attempts to Unite Amidst Growing Chaos
A large swath of northern Syria has now been ceded to the rebellion. The rebels are in the process of mopping up isolated pockets of government resistance in this area. In the last two weeks, the regime abandoned an important stronghold in Saraqeb and narrowly fought off by aerial attacks a rebel attack on the strategic air base at Taftanaz.
The regime’s problem is that it simply can no longer muster a sufficient number of loyal men willing to fight on behalf of its cause. Its increasing reliance on air power and artillery in recent months has shown this.
The growing engagement of non-Syrian fighters — from the Islamist Lebanese Hezballah and Iraqi Sadrist movement — and the ceding of areas of the northeast to Kurdish control also testify to it.
Assad’s airmen and gunners can wreak a heavy toll among rebels and civilians. They can cause the rush of refugees across the Syrian-Turkish border that may shortly lead to a humanitarian crisis in that area.
But they cannot turn the tide in favor of the government, which is narrowing its lines of engagement in order to make more effective use of the ground troops available to it.
In the latest sign of the direction of events, the fighting is now approaching the capital city of Damascus. Street battles are taking place just outside the city limits. Even formerly well-guarded areas of residence of regime officials such as Mazzeh and Kafr Soussa are being subjected to mortar fire.
The center of the city remains under the guard of the loyalist Fourth Armored Division of Maher Assad. Residents are hoarding food supplies in anticipation of the crisis ahead. The area is filled with checkpoints and military positions.
But as all this takes place, the rebellion within Syria is still fractious, disunited, subject to internecine violence, and increasingly notable for the presence of extremist jihadi fighters. Islamist and secular rebel elements have already clashed inside the rebel-held zones of the north, at the Bab-al Salameh border crossing earlier this month.
It remains doubtful as to whether the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces can by itself alter this situation. What is needed is closer Western involvement and supervision of the rebellion within the country. This will enable the identification of powerful and deserving elements who can then receive the appropriate aid to finally bring the bloody reign of Bashar Assad to an end.
While this blogger would like to be optimistic, as well as proven wrong, on such a pressing concern, there is more reason for pessimism than optimism.
It is not as if there aren’t some factions seeking normalcy, at least in terms of going about their lives as civilized human beings. HOWEVER, the death grip of the Muslim Brotherhood Mafia is too strong, and much credit can be given to the Islamist-in-Chief, despite blatherings to the contrary.
For starters….http://adinakutnicki.com/2012/08/31/islamists-whatever-their-stripes-are-bloodthirsty-assads-butchers-his-opponents-too-six-of-onehalf-dozen-of-another-addendum-toislam-blood-commentary-by-adina-kutnicki/, plus so much more!
My contacts (both in Israel & Washington) have rarely been wrong. They agree with all of the above. It is what it is, and the west – especially Israel – must prepare accordingly.
I say that America should stay out of it and let them kill each other. No matter who gets in they’ll still be muslims who want to kill us, Israel, and the free world. I have no respect or sympathy for them at all. I have no sympathy or respect for islam period.
The Islamist fighters inside Syria do not recognize or want to be a party under their leadership. Turkey’s PM Erdogan is very weary of Syrian Kurds- who reside mostly by Turkey/Syria border. Some Kurds wanted to be neutral- but now Iran (Mehr News) is trying to woo them along with the Iraqi Kurds.(Kurdistan)-while Turkey’s PM Erdogan has been running sorties to ‘eliminate the PKK-Kurds in the mointainous region of Kurdistan (Iraq/Maliki has warned Turkey/Erdogan re: air-raids into Iraq). The first SNC had a Swedish-Kurd as its leader but it never got the diverse population unity (Syriacs,Alewites,Kurds,’Christians- many denominations- Shiites,who have their pilgrimage sites in Syria. Now the rebel fighters- the foreign fighters are of real concern since some are hardened jihadists from Libyan civil war (Benhadj bunch who were from the beginning there aided and sustained by Turkey/Erdogan; Jama’al al-Islamiya fighters from Egypt who were pardoned and let free by Pres.Morsy (Egypt Independent)- some of whom also went to Libya to hone up their jihadist terrorism (i.e. Benghazi)Then there are the wannabe jihadist/rebel fighters from Norway (all of ME background). The original opposition to Bashar al-Assad was ‘hijacked’ by Turkey,Egypt and Qatar- by introducing their ‘rebel fighters’ into the mix,since they have little co-operation and different outside backers. Turkey’s PM Erdogan has sought every opportunity of inducing Syrian g’ment forces to attack Turkey believably- the 2 pilots case- the mortars over border- but now Turkey is inundated with all the refugees and UN/EU are not writing the checks. Jordan has it worse- all the refugees- Palestinians,MB Syrians causing a lot of trouble threatening Abdullah II ‘s reign. Jordanian courts have expelled some of them back to Syria. Inside Syria the ‘Palestinians Refugees- 4th generation’ have real battles- killing each other-some sustained by Syrian g’ment+ Iran- some allied with MB/Egypt and Qatar exhibiting the carrots. Of note too that the foreign terrorist jihadists are taking sanctuary in the DMZ Golan Heights to attack Syrian g’ment forces trying to draw Israel’s attention to Golan Heights while their brethen with same backers/financiers/arsenal providers started the Gaza Blitzkrieg with missiles,rockets and mortars. Yet the UN is still talking about sending Peacekeepers into Syria -with opposition and Syrian g’ment miraculously sharing a conference table and call for the end of civil war. (Norwegian UN Peacekeeping Leader-Syria- Roger Mood vg.no)