"Who is to blame for Syria’s nightmare?" By Ehsani2

“Who is to blame for Syria’s nightmare?” By Ehsani2

Sunday, July 31st, 2016

Who is to blame for Syria’s nightmare?
By Ehsani2
For Syria Comment, July 31

Screen Shot 2016-07-31 at 5.22.46 PM

Once the popular demonstrations of the Arab spring brought down the leaders of Tunisia and Egypt, many Syrians assumed that they could bring down President Assad just as quickly. Early in 2011, most expected him to last no more than a few months. Five and a half years later, Assad remains president. In the 20th century, more than 30 leaders have ruled for over 30 years. Only 3 of them stepped down voluntarily. Ninety per cent clung to power until the bitter end. Instead of viewing the events in Egypt and Tunisia as a statistical anomaly, Syrians viewed them as the new norm. But as Syrians came to understand that Assad would not leave power voluntarily, they took up arms, hoping that force would succeed where peaceful demonstrations could not. Here too, most opposition members over-estimated their strength and underestimated the resources of the regime. In particular, they failed to understand the damage that the Iraq war had done to America’s appetite for a new adventure in the Middle East.

The White House

President Obama was elected twice by running on an anti-war platform. He promised to bring US troops home from both Afghanistan and Iraq. Military involvement in Syria went against his instincts. Allies like Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey had other ideas. Almost immediately after the start of the events in Daraa, they pushed the White House to take a strong stand. Washington resisted for nearly 5 months. This resistance ended on August 18 of 2011, when President Obama made a statement calling for the President of Syria to “step aside”. The statement did not say “step down”. The careful and deliberate debate over every word in the White House amounted to little however once the statement was made. Washington wanted Saddam gone and he was. Ditto for Gaddafi. The consensus in the Middle East has always been that the U.S. controls the region. Because the president of the United States announced that it was time for Assad to go, many believed it meant Assad’s end. Advisors inside the White House, however, were aware of the President’s deep reluctance to act. More importantly, Obama’s reluctance was driven by his belief that the United States has little strategic interest in Syria and his awareness that both Iran and Russia do. They view Syria as an important strategic asset worth fighting for. They would outbid any U.S. escalation. Obama saw Syria as a perilous adventure that the United States would not win. It took years for Assad’s enemies to understand Obama. Perhaps they can be excused to some extent by the president’s confusing statements about Assad and U.S. goals, but on the whole, anyone aware of how minimally important Syria has been to Washington compared to Moscow should not have been confused for long.

President Assad and the Syrian State

There is no denying that six years of fighting have taken a huge toll on the Syrian state. Yes, it has lost a massive amount of real estate. It has also suffered devastating losses in manpower. Syria lies in ruins. While the word “win” is vastly inappropriate here, the Syrian state can claim to have won if it defined wining by the simple fact of its survival. There is no question that this survival was accomplished because the state decided to use every asset at its disposal, often shocking the world with its brutality. Western and Syrian government perceptions this struggle have always been diametrically opposed. Western observers saw a state dropping barrel bombs on its own civilian centers; the Syrian government saw itself as the protector of the country. It was fighting jihadists, terrorists, and and traitors who were conspiring with foreign governments to topple it. Damascus’ survival has been secured by allies that never wavered. This commitment culminated with the stunning decision of Russia to become a direct military combatant in the conflict. Shockingly, early calls for Assad to step aside did not stop after the Russian entry. The new logic seemed to be that Moscow would pressure Assad to leave as part of its diplomatic rapprochement with the U.S. During a recent interview, Assad was asked if Putin had discussed the issue of transition with him. He flatly denied that such a discussion ever took place. Moscow and Damascus have largely identical views on the conflict and how to resolve it. Asking Assad to step down is not part of this calculus. Russian diplomats may claim that they are not wedded to Assad in the course of public and private conversations, but they do not bring this topic up with him.

The Syrian opposition

The Syrian opposition has long argued that it followed non-violent principals early in the uprising. The eventual recourse to arms was made in order to protect civilian lives and honor (aarad) from state brutality. Government loyalists counter that the uprising was armed almost from the beginning. What is indisputable is that between June 4th and 6th, nearly 120 Syrian soldiers and security troops were killed and had their bodies mutilated and thrown in a river around the town of Jisr-al-Shugour. Opposition activists claimed at the time that the dead soldiers were shot by their own superiors as they tried to defect. This was incorrect. According to informed western sources, electronic interception of opposition communication from that day clearly revealed that opposition fighters took responsibility for the murder of the soldiers. The same western source recalls how his capital expected a massive and blistering response from Assad against the city. Instead, they were surprised to see a far more modest attack as military vehicles and tanks took positions on the outskirts of the city in an effort to find the perpetrators of this crime against the soldiers.

In response to the apparent increased militarization of the opposition early in the conflict, I wrote an article for Syria Comment in February of 2012, titled “The Syrian opposition must find a different way”. Here is the conclusion:

What is needed is a smart and innovative strategy that helps spare lives but convinces Syria’s leaders that the old ways of doing business are over. Popular efforts must be spent in writing a new constitution, a bill of rights to calm minority fears, and an economic plan to reassure the business community and workers alike. The standard of living of most Syrians is appalling, so is the education level and health care system. The opposition must channel their energies towards such topics rather than the senseless call to arm the rebels in what is clearly a suicide mission.

Sadly, under the pretext of protecting lives and honor, the opposition instead opened its arms to anyone willing to join the fight. Salafists, jihadists, and Al Qaeda and its affiliates were invited into the country in order to fight the regime and balance the unequal power equation. Alarmed by these trends, I spoke with a leading member the Syrian National Coalition. My concerns were invariably dismissed. I was assured that these fighters and extremist groups were transitory. Once the regime fall, I was told, they would leave Syria or move on.

To be fair, referring to the “opposition” as if it were one movement is misleading. The opposition is best viewed as a spectrum. ISIL and Nusra aresituated on its right while activists, such as Haytham Manaa and groups like his, are situated on its left. The groups on the left had a nuanced solution to the crisis which was largely built on the notion that Assad could stay but on condition that his powers be limited. They wanted him to give up control over the many Syrian intelligence agencies. While the left emphasized non-violent principles, they overestimated their power to influence thinking in Damascus. For the right on the opposition spectrum, Assad’s immediate departure was the overriding demand. Sadly, the U.S. and other western governments threw their weight behind these groups which have by now come to occupy the middle of the rainbow.

Screen Shot 2016-07-31 at 5.45.05 PM The Syrian coalition and military commanders, such as Colonel Abdul Jabaar al-Aqidi, were the principal allies of the west. Pictures of the Colonel standing with foreign jihadists who belonged to the Islamic State during the capture of Kuweiris air base and subsequently standing with Ambassador Robert Ford became iconic of Washington’s confused strategy in Syria. Many accused Washington of indirectly supporting the same jihadists that it sought to destroy. This doomed policy was a result of conflicting goals. The West and its regional allies wanted stability and regime-change at the same time. They wanted to support a Sunni ascendancy in Syria without undermining secularism. On the ground, however, the extreme right side of the opposition spectrum kept moving left and swallowing all others in its path. To date, the main elements of the opposition blame President Obama for the Syrian crisis. They propose a variety of policy alternatives, such as bombing Damascus, destroying the Syrian air force, establishing no-fly-zones, and increasing money, arms, and training for the opposition. These critics are now placing their bets on Hillary Clinton, who promises to be more hawkish than Obama. They hope that she will tilt U.S. foreign policy more decisively in the direction of regime-change. Her campaign advisors suggest that Hillary may indeed move in this direction. But any escalation by Washington is only likely to produce an even stronger escalation by Moscow. Hillary’s campaign promises are likely to be moderated once she is president.

The Syrian opposition members who bet that Assad would be quickly deposed in 2011 are now largely spectators. Their country lies in ruins. Their goal of bringing down the state (Isqat al-nizam) looks as far as ever from being achieved. And Salafists control the fighting on the ground. Like all conflicts that turn armed and violent, the most militant and extreme end up elbowing the more moderate aside. Burhan Ghalioun and Haytham Manaa have been replaced by Caliph Baghdadi and Mohammed al-Jolani. Rebels have been replaced by mujahedin. Without a single exception, every armed group today is committed to ruling by sharia law. This is why Assad and his supporters will refuse to give up and continue fighting. Syrians, unfortunately, have a long fight in front of them. Miscalculation has led to Syria’s ruin.

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Comments (89)

Majedkhaldoun said:

Mr. Ihsani
Clearly there are twisted statements , the violence was started by the regime attacking civilians , ,the throwing of soldiers in the river was a clear distortion as the pictures you refer to are proven to happen in Lebanon during the civil war not in Syria by rebels , deceiving , twisting facts was not your nature before , we expected you to stand on principles ,
As for Hillary position ,you predicted her behavior long before she become president , , this is not academic. It is your opinion which could or could not be true.
Further the brutality and sectarianism and the corruption of this regime , and all the powers are in one man, was not mentioned by you , the rest of Syrians are just slaves, that was not mentioned as a blame . Selling Syria to Iran and later to Russia was not mentioned
Another twisted fact , you mentioned Haytham Mannaa by saying he did not want Assad to go , that was not Mannaa position
The opposition never asked to bomb Damascus, where did you get that from? They called to strike Assad forces not the city of Damascus.
What a shame , !

July 31st, 2016, 8:10 pm

Sara Huizenga Wagasky said:

I agree, this is a horribly “lies via ommision” article and account.

August 30th, 2016, 5:44 pm

Passerby said:

Bad decisions…water running downhill…in the final analysis, the effect of the Sick Old Man of Europe and it’s collapse. Islamic countries in the far east don’t have these problems.

When I look at the area, I’m struck by all the little ancient religions/ethnic groups that still survive. Alawites, Mandaeans, etc. etc. True, all have the no converts under any circumstances thing, or they would have been exterminated, and they were often persecuted but at least until modern times, they survived.

In Christian Europe, the only other religion not immediately exterminated was the Jews, because of the Christian Bible. Yeah, they were persecuted, but everyone else was exterminated.

And now, all those minority religions under Islam are being exterminated, and Europe is being flooded by minority religion Muslims.

It’s the Ottoman Empire, and especially it’s collapse.

———

How do we end this carnage? I still thing the best bet is to give the ISIS part of Syria to Iraq. Sunnis no longer an absolute majority in Syria, and Shiites no longer a majority in Iraq. Those Sunni Syrians would probably prefer being part of Iraq to living under Assad, makes that part easier. Assad’s grandfather wanted an Alawite state. Assad gets it with the big cities tossed in and could almost hold an honest election. Iraq’s government goons would want to keep their Shiite majority, but countries love getting bigger for whatever fundamental reason. Might be able to sell it.

What’s the alternative?

July 31st, 2016, 10:07 pm

Ghufran said:

Ehsani is right, the use of violence by rebels in the name of self defense made things much worse for most Syrians and opened the doors for jihadists to enter most syrian provinces as the syrian army was forced to fight guerrilla wars, car bombs and suicide bombers all over the country. Political leaders in the opposition camp were never effective and had no problem taking GCC money and flirting with israel, they also had no power over jihadist factions which now control the anti assad rebel force. This so called revolution used slogans the same way Baathists did, those slogans proved to be empty and only served the propagandists and were mostly helpful to prop unemployed boneheads who needed talking points on aljazeera and pro saudi media outlets.
Regardless if Nusra succeeds in ending the siege of aleppo or not the revolution is dead assuming that it once had a heart beat, thawrajiyyeh have become cheer leaders for terrorists and what they did was similar to a woman in an abusive relationship who manages to get a divorce then marries a drug dealer !!

July 31st, 2016, 10:14 pm

Richard Lefew said:

I enjoyed your article. I disagree about the Arab Spring. I believe that there never was an “Arab Spring”. The so called “Arab Spring” was media dressing to provide cover for what has always been a Radical Islamic Uprising.

ISIS and FSA may fight each other, but nobody can deny they are members of the same Islamist Movement. They fight over influence and territory, but every opposition group is part of the same movement as ISIS.

If the U.S. supports any so called “moderate opposition”, they are supporting the same movement ISIS is part of.

The only responsible thing for the U.S. to do, is accept that they were on the wrong side of history, and stop backing the Jihadi’s, and start supporting the Syrian people, through the legitimate Syrian government.

Put down the Jihadi’s, then work out a political solution…without violence as the underlying motivation.

The U.S. wants to force a “Political Transition” through military pressure and violence, hoping that the people may tire of war, and throw Assad out. Perhaps this would work, except for the fact that the U.S.’s alternative to Assad are hard core Jihadi terrorists. We didn’t give the Syrians much of a choice, aside from supporting Assad.

July 31st, 2016, 11:04 pm

eugene said:

Sobering view. Touching on key-?-points, certainly doesn’t garner new friends, but it does give a highlight to the present situation facing the Syrian people, who are the victims of this debacle. Considering who the designers from the beginning were and the present state of affairs today, ignorance, ineptness, callousness, seem to be the hallmarks that history will show, that is, until the revisionists bring about a view favorable to the then sitting leadership in the countries that started this. Let’s hope that this present affair doesn’t lead to the same start of WW-1-, for it won’t be prolonged like then, it will be over quickly, perhaps for humankind as we know it today.

August 1st, 2016, 6:18 am

Uzair8 said:

Jeff White responds to the article:

https://mobile.twitter.com/JeffWhite25/status/760009541425700864?p=p

Amongst other observations :

‘The organization and word count for the subsections of the article suggest effort to minimize regime responsibility .’

August 1st, 2016, 6:57 am

Alexander Clarkson @APHClarkson 44m
If Ramouseh falls, does regime Aleppo fall? If regime Aleppo falls, does Bashar fall?

https://mobile.twitter.com/APHClarkson/status/760146338109587456?p=p

August 1st, 2016, 12:59 pm

The battle in Aleppo was not a surprise, it was announced six hours earlier, , Ramouseh is still in Assad control area, this Aleppo battle may fail to accomplish what the rebels plan , but lack of comments by pro Assad people , clearly shows how nervous they are,

August 1st, 2016, 2:01 pm

Tara said:

ISIS is the opposition’s problem and Assad is Syria’s problem . Yet, there exist an organic magnet relationship between Assad and terrorism and in order to rid the world of terrorism , one must break the magnetic force by getting rid of Assad

Today , in my eyes, ihsani proved beyond reasonable doubt he is Christian first. What a shame!

August 1st, 2016, 7:50 pm

#HorrorSiege

I really hope the siege of Aleppo is short-lived.

Maybe them burning tyres are not an attempt at a no-fly-zone but desperate and hungry besieged aleppans resorting to cooking rubber tyres to eat?

End the Horror siege!

August 1st, 2016, 8:29 pm

US foreign policy under Obama has nothing to do with Obama leadership at all , when Hillary Clinton was Secretary of State she ran the foreign policy herself , she was opposed by the consultant to Obama , and she had to quit as they chose to oppose her , Obama was always afraid of the consultants and follow their words , the same thing for the defense ministry , the consultants were the engine that direct the defense policy and Obama again had no leadership power , and now , John Kerry is not running the foreign policy, again foreign policy of US is run by consultants not by Kerry or Obama.
As far as foreign policy or defense, Obama delegateed these things to the consultants and he was only concerned by internal matters

August 1st, 2016, 9:21 pm

ALI ALWAHSH said:

Good read

August 1st, 2016, 9:35 pm

American weapons bought by Ksa and qatar and smuggled by Turkey are killing russian soldiers, 18 so far. Putin is aware of a possible Afghanistan scenario in Syria but he has no choice but to respond. The U.S. will continue its proxy war and will not commit troops or directly engage the Russians. Putin not Assad or the next US president will determine the course of the war in Aleppo. Nusra et al have made progress in the last 48 hours but it is too early to judge the final outcome, I doubt that putin will back off. Trump will probably be less hawkish in Syria but Clinton may still win the elections, however, it would be another strategic mistake by the opposition to believe that Clinton will come to their rescue especially if the recent rebels push end up in failure. We still have 6 long months before the next US president can change Syria’s policy. Erdogan is still active but he is occupied by the mess he created inside his own country.

August 1st, 2016, 9:50 pm

What’s wrong of being a Christian first? If it weren’t for Christians and other monitories Syria would have been long gone.

August 1st, 2016, 10:43 pm

Truce in Aleppo means rescue to Assad

August 2nd, 2016, 8:07 am

?????? ? ????? ?????

August 2nd, 2016, 8:57 am

ALAN said:

There are no power on the earth can fight the Russians militarily. end point.

memo to 11th comment writer: http://journal-neo.org/2016/08/02/why-america-loses-wars/

August 2nd, 2016, 12:12 pm

AKbar Palace said:

I think Eshani2’s article was rather accurate and concise.

I think the Middle East is now the world’s problem and I think the world needs to act to find a solution. Anything else is just a Band-Aid.

Short of an occupation by large multi-national forces in Syria and Iraq, nothing constructive will happen.

You first bring down the self-elected regime, then you bring relative quiet, then you bring in elections, then you stay there to keep the quiet until you don’t need the multi-national occupation and forces any longer. Self-elected regimes like Russia and China will obviously feel nervous about this sort of thing.

It worked for Germany and Japan.

August 2nd, 2016, 12:14 pm

Real clear
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2016/07/30/russia_expert_stephen_cohen_trump_wants_to_stop_the_new_cold_war_but_the_america_media_just_doesnt_understand.html

August 2nd, 2016, 1:02 pm

It is very wrong to be Christian first or muslin first . That means you are only able to identify with certain sectors of humanity and see the world and interpret events from that angle . A Syrian Christian has to be Syrian first .

Ihsani’s assessment is inaccurate! He knows well that Assad is the root cause of Isis but willfully ignored to make the point clear.

August 2nd, 2016, 1:32 pm

Tara
Deir Shpeigel in Germany has an article shows that ISIS is the creation of Assad , Ihsani knew that , and he knew that what he said is not true , I had respect for him ,before , no more , and guess who turned that way too , it is Akbar , now he is the throat of Assad , I am not surprised for Akbar to do that , Assad is Israel best friend ,
Erdogan victory and Aleppo battle ,disappointed those people , and they showed their pleasure too soon , only to see things are going against their wishes, now, they are depressed, Aleppo is going to be free again , , just an hour ago , the artillary regimen has surrendered and the name of captured military officers are on Internet, those who try to surround the rebels are surrounded themselves in one of the most memorable battle in the life of this revolution
Some are calling for Russia to attack Syrian Rebels , what a shame, they were against foreign intervention , now they are calling for such crimes ,

August 2nd, 2016, 6:52 pm

EHSANI2 said:

Majedkhaldoun,

I am sorry that I lost your respect

August 2nd, 2016, 7:40 pm

Majed,

Akbar has always shown support to the Syrian people revolting for their freedom and dignity and was able to differentiate them from what the regime tried to market to the rest of the world . I hope that has not changed and that his agreement with Ihsani’s was just because it is not clear to him what is clear to us , the Syrisn people . In case of Ihsani, he has no excuse. He is Sytian-born

August 2nd, 2016, 8:10 pm

Elias khouri is now accepting what many of us said in 2012. Islamists have no plan to embrace democracy and freedom. Syrians didn’t have to choose between Assad and Nusra et al but that was the plan from day one by those who ignited this conflict. Assad knew that his best hope is to transform his enemies into a monster that is worse than his regime, and his opponents helped him politically while killing his soldiers. What did you expect when the godfathers of this dirty war are iran and the GCC ?
Israel and the West were agitators and had no interest in seeing a strong and free Syria, however you need to look in the mirror before you throw stones at foreign powers, those powers were able to dictate the course of events in Syria because Syrians hated each others more than they loved their country.
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Even if some thawrajiyyeh were sincere and had good intentions they ended up helping slaughter the hope for any positive change in Syria when they supported religious zealots and terrorists and accuse those who disagreed with them of being traitors and regime collaborators. Opposition media is now obituary pages and its editors are terrorist cheer leaders.
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August 2nd, 2016, 10:59 pm

mjabali said:

How did Tara know that Ihsani is Christian?

August 3rd, 2016, 8:00 am

Blaming does not solve anything….never did and never will

August 3rd, 2016, 8:02 am

Akbar Palace said:

Tara,

I didn’t detect Eshani2 being anti-opposition. I think he is just saying that they are weak and not able to win their freedom considering the circumstances.

Like Saddam, the US could have toppled Assad in a few weeks. No one wants to own this situation except Iran and Russia. The West doesn’t have the stomach for it.

It could change under Trump, but I’m not betting on it.

August 3rd, 2016, 12:55 pm

In the recently retaken from militants DAESH the area of Bani Zayd, Aleppo, Syrian army discovered cache of NATO weapons. Among the interesting finds of the TOW 2 ATGM and Milan.
https://youtu.be/QnBD22_A4tU

August 3rd, 2016, 1:24 pm

CIA vetted trained and funded terrorist al-Zenki carried gas attack upon civilians.?
https://youtu.be/hwD1ltIJklI

August 3rd, 2016, 2:41 pm

Syrialover said:

TARA, MAJEDKHALDOUN, MJABALI

When I read something about Syria like EHSANI2’s piece above it’s like stepping into a parallel universe, with weird music and dimmed by fog.

Anyone who closely followed the events in Syria from 2011 will find it impossible to match this account with observed reality and facts.

In this parallel universe, if you push aside all the cleverly constructed selective arguments and examples(some of which are simply interpretive and others actually wrong), the following stark subtext fills the screen:

1. Syrians deserve what’s happened. It’s punishment they should have seen coming and behaved themselves.

2. Unlike the rest of humanity throughout history, Syrians don’t want (need, deserve) to live with dignity, freedom and opportunity. And if physically attacked, their homes and families threatened, they should not fight back, resisting biology, instinct and reason.

3. Syrians are also idiots. “…many Syrians assumed that they could bring down President Assad just as quickly. Early in 2011, most expected him to last no more than a few months.”

Haha what fools, they didn’t realize that Assad would invite Iran and Russia to come in and help him trash the country, kill hundreds of thousand of Syrians and destroy its infrastructure. They thought it was going to be a matter sorted out by Syrians, for Syrians. How dumb was that!

COMMENT:

I am not sure if EHSANI2 can re-read what he wrote in 2012 (and which he quotes above) with a serious face. That is a statement of even greater naivety and more divorced from reality than the belief in point 3.

He wrote (in the face of the violent crackdown by the regime and its security apparatus): “Popular efforts must be spent in writing a new constitution, a bill of rights to calm minority fears, and an economic plan to reassure the business community and workers alike. The standard of living of most Syrians is appalling, so is the education level and health care system. The opposition must channel their energies towards such topics rather than the senseless call to arm the rebels in what is clearly a suicide mission.”

Here’s the news: Numerous courageous, intelligent Syrians tried that. You can check out their graves or prison cells or visit them in exile. They weren’t simply disregarded or ignored (which would be bad enough) they were actively threatened and punished.

August 3rd, 2016, 4:48 pm

EHSANI2 talks about a crime against the Syrian army, as if they were an innocent, harmless, protected species.

The SAA in 2011 declared full-on war on the Syrian people – on millions of helpless, unarmed ordinary people. Vigorously delivering collective punishment and warnings.

I have sharp recollections of shock at the brutality and capital crimes committed by the Syrian army from the very beginning.

Here’s just a couple of random examples that haunt me, from very early in the conflict:

– The image of an elderly village schoolteacher, the respected father of 10, filmed on the ground being kicked to death by laughing soldiers.

– An account by a woman of soldiers beating and raping women in her village (in an orgy of indiscriminate killing and brutality). And of a young soldier asking her to cooperate and pretend he was raping her or he would be shot for not carrying out orders, official ARMY orders.

– Bewildered, angry Syrians after their homes had been looted and trashed by the SAA, in an exercise carried out under the command of military officers in official vehicles.

These are the acts that drove many Syrians into active defensive opposition. What did they have to lose in the face of such an enemy, determined to kill, rob and degrade you, your family, friends and neighbours with no provocation or reason? It became do or die. Or die anyway.

It was all there, for the world to see. (Or was it just actors filmed somewhere in the Gulf in an exercise to discredit the regime, as pro-Assadists love to claim).

August 3rd, 2016, 5:42 pm

AKBAR PALACE #26 – You didn’t detect that? Really.

And actually, it could change under Hillary. She has far better qualified and experienced advisers than those selected by Obama, whose goal was to deceive, duck and dodge in a support of a personal fantasy where he tamed and charmed the Iranians and Russians through submission.

August 3rd, 2016, 5:54 pm

There’s a puzzling error in EHSANI2 above:

“the Syrian government saw itself as the protector of the country.”

No, no.

Correction:

It SAID it was the protector of the country. It SAW ITSELF as protecting its own interests. And its ACTIONS were to ruthlessly, deliberately destroy the country and hand it over to Iran in pursuit of protecting itself.

Advice scientifically confirmed by psychologists: Never listen to what people SAY, look at what they DO.

August 3rd, 2016, 6:11 pm

As a final point

I feel no hatred or blame towards over 90% of the soldiers in the Syrian army.

They have my massive sympathy for the way their lived turned out.

I’m always aware that most of them are just ordinary Syrians, and they and their families have suffered terrible loss, deep psychological damage and destroyed lives. And they too have lost their country.

In any halfway sophisticated debate, it would quickly be proved that Syrian soldiers are also tragic victims of the Assad regime just the same as their fellow Syrians they were ordered to attack.

They too have been cheated, debased, exploited and cruelly disposed of.

August 3rd, 2016, 6:34 pm

30. Syrialover said:

‘– The image of an elderly village schoolteacher, the respected father of 10, filmed on the ground being kicked to death by laughing soldiers.’

I’m assuming it’s the same incident I recall. That was one which got me too. I was in tears and that was the turning point for me to commit to support the revolution.

An elderly man in a village/farm on his knees with young, tall, black uniformed men in military boots walking around him laughing, drop kicking him.

He was a defenceless elderly man crying helplessly whilst being humiliated and hurt. I thought that could have been my father which brought tears to my eyes and then anger.

The Regime has to GO!

The Regime WILL GO!

August 3rd, 2016, 6:50 pm

Thank you Syrialover
Thank you uzair8
The ferocious atrocities committed by Assad supporters are countless , look at the over twenty thousand prisoners died tortured ,mutilated, ematiated they did not have weapons to fight with they were prisoners,
Decent people stand with their decent principles , not influenced by their religion or sect, or relatives ,I have always been for freedom and justice , and I am against the extreme Islamists to hold power and behave just like Assad , , I believe 90%of Syrians want freedom , justice and against ALL kinds of dictatorships, I was shocked by Ihsani message, I never expected him to write such an article, he chose to write it after Assad troops encircled Aleppo, thought the revolution was defeated, he probably thought the revolution is over, he wanted to deflate the pressure in his chest that he held for six years , and the true color appeared, or was it the failed putsch in Turkey that prompted him to write such an article? That failed putsch was the reason that Akbar changed immediately ,
I am not for Trump , I will not vote for Trump , I will vote against Trump. We do not want to change from a reluctant , fearful president , to a nut and put him in charge of world lives, and nuclear button , I think Americans are smarter than to do that ,

August 3rd, 2016, 8:10 pm

MAJEDKHALDOUN

Anyone who condones, supports or “plays neutral” about the Assad regime will have a horse in that race.

It’s a dirty, dead-end race, its pro-Assad participants driven by fear, greed, opportunism, ignorance, complicity, anxiety about loss of property, security or status or hope of reward.

Such people will have something invested in the survival of the regime. (Note: Not to be confused with the survival of Syria).

And some of the worst of those people are comfortably outside Syria.

Inside Syria, stuck in regime-held Aleppo for example, some are forced to depend on the Assad side or have nowhere to go. Others are simply terrorized and seeking protection.

Let the “sincere and serious” pro-Assad writers put their case to the following people:

I know ordinary, non-political Syrians who have been driven from their homes into the desert without food, water or hope by the fight for ISIS-held territory. First hand experience in this conflict has taught them to them fear, hate and distrust the Assad regime as much as they do ISIS.

They have given up expecting to survive or return home. They saw their towns smashed up and people killed by Russian bombers. They have heard that Hezbollah convoys rolled up and looted their homes as a reward for fighting. They live in terror that regime-linked forces will come into their camps and take away their teenaged sons.

The Syrian regime and its allies didn’t protect them, they deliberately attacked them, Russian bombers are still attacking them, and the Assad regime is stopping food, water or medical help from getting to them.

Where do they go from there? It’s a story told millions and millions of times over – what the Assad regime has done to Syrians who had nothing to do with rebels or opposition forces.

It was said before the conflict that the Assad regime considered 80% of the Syrian population as rubbish and expendable.

We now have proof.

August 3rd, 2016, 9:16 pm

Again:

It took an Obama to get a Trump.

It took an Assad to get an ISIS.

August 3rd, 2016, 9:19 pm

To # 33/37, who are you and from which country?

August 3rd, 2016, 9:33 pm

“I feel no hatred or blame towards over 90% of the soldiers in the Syrian army”
I could not agree more, that is what I said from day one, however, let us go back to 2012 and read what most thawrajiyyeh wrote about those 90%, sympathy whether was genuine or not did not stop most members of the opposition from supporting the killing of tens of thousands of young syrian men, and please do not insult our intelligence and repeat the old symphony that the killing was always in self defense. Support for religious zealots and terrorists was a choice not an obligation, and that support was a decisive factor in pushing the conflict towards the cliff where the unknown was an attractive fate to those who advocated violence in the name of freedom and democracy, a slogan that proved to be as empty as Baathist slogans. Preserving what is left of Syria is more important than Assad and the ego of rebels and their backers who want a military victory at any cost, and that preservation is the horse many of us on the fence have. Aleppo battle is not finished yet but I believe that a clear win by rebels is unattainable, mark my words. The war will end when the big players get something that can be marketed as a victory, I do not support invading rebels areas but I do not want another Raqqa in aleppo, no syrian should accept a situation where saudi , chechnyan or Turkmen terrorists have the upper hand in any Syrian city especially aleppo. Pro rebels media is sugar coating the difficulty facing Nusra terrorists who may not be able to keep the territories they won much longer, I remain hopeful that Nusra will be pushed back especially that most big players are finding it very difficult to support head choppers and terrorists who killed thousands of civilians using weapons not much different from regime barrel bombs.

August 3rd, 2016, 11:24 pm

GHUFRAN #39 wrote:

“back to 2012 … did not stop most members of the opposition from supporting the killing of tens of thousands of young syrian men”

Wow. Those amateur pre-jihadist rebels four years ago were somehow managing to kill tens of thousands of Assad’s fully equipped army.

And we never knew. A secret GHUFRAN has been keeping.

August 4th, 2016, 3:47 am

http://Www.bandicam.com
Prisoners from Shabeeha chanting ???? ???? ????? ????

August 4th, 2016, 7:54 am

habib said:

This is why the “uprising” will continue, the Israelis want it:

“The West should seek the further weakening of Islamic State, but not its destruction. A weak but functioning IS can undermine the appeal of the caliphate among radical Muslims; keep bad actors focused on one another rather than on Western targets; and hamper Iran’s quest for regional hegemony.”

http://us6.campaign-archive1.com/?u=7e381afc91d1b09aec08b492b&id=820a5c6db6

August 4th, 2016, 9:34 am

??? : ???? ???? ????? ??? ??????? ??? ?????? ??????? ?????? ???? ??? ?????? ” ????? ????? ???????? ” ?? ??? ??? 1979
Rebels call the third phase of aleppo “liberation” Ibrahim Al-Yousef. Ibrahim was a member of the military wing of Muslim Brotherhood who murdered scores of young recruits at an artillery military school in 1979. You have to be an idiot or a bloody liar If you have not connected the dots yet and realized that this rebellion has a become a terrorist movement born out of the Muslim Brotherhood uprising decades ago.
You can not make chicken soup out of chicken poop.
???? ?????? ????? ?????

August 4th, 2016, 11:48 am

Does anyone here believe, that Russia will save the lives of chameleons with content of terrorist any color or label?
After all, with this task Russian military operates in Syria. Need to understand that the arm is very long to extent that the chameleon can receive gifts from the Bering Strait.

August 4th, 2016, 12:48 pm

Mina said:

39 ghufran, on pro rebel media sugar coating. You should hear the french governemental radios the last few days on aleppo! Unbelievable. One feels that qatar and ksa are the sole countries that matter for the economy!

August 4th, 2016, 3:22 pm

?? – ?? ??? ??? ?? ?? ??? ??? …….incompetence and stupidity shocked
State Dept: One incident (beheading of a child, chemical attack) will not stop US funding
https://youtu.be/NyDanD9sHRM

August 4th, 2016, 4:28 pm

Bard said:

Who is to blame for Syria’s nightmare?

I thought that was obvious?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jeyRwFHR8WY

#CityofLondon
#IISPipeline

August 5th, 2016, 4:36 am

Alan, The rebels did not use chemical weapons. False. The Kremlin in typical Soviet style falsely accuses others of what it does itself.

The following twitter thread will explain more:

Jett Goldsmith @JettGoldsmith 7h
The Russian allegations of chemical weapons use came an hour before the regime dropped chlorine bombs on Saraqeb.

See more:

https://mobile.twitter.com/JettGoldsmith/status/761394215154626560?p=p

August 5th, 2016, 5:49 am

[#47 Edit time ran out due to screen freeze]

The above tweet was a follow up to yesterdays tweet:

‘2 days in: Russian allegations of a chemical weapons attack in Aleppo are unsubstantiated. A regime chemical attack in Saraqeb is confirmed.’

More Russian lies:

Russia claimed a few days ago it was opening Humanitarian corridors and claimed rebels were surrendering and civilians were fleeing.

‘Russia Today TV interviewed an allegedly captured rebel. Later, he turned out to be a bearded regime fighter’

Image:https://mobile.twitter.com/bdrhmnhrk/status/761449009819054080?p=p

Also: ‘and same people as fleeng refugees and surrendered rebel commander LoL’

Image: https://mobile.twitter.com/zulamba/status/761454627883741185?p=p

August 5th, 2016, 6:23 am

27. ALAN said:
‘In the recently retaken from militants DAESH the area of Bani Zayd, Aleppo…’

Alan please stop the falsehoods. They’re childish. There is no DAESH in Bani Zayd.

August 5th, 2016, 6:27 am

21. Majedkhaldoun

Wow, some people are still peddling this ridiculous theory.

Newsflash, ISIS is al Qaeda in Iraq. Bashar did not create al Qaeda. Nusra is also just an offshoot.

Remember, the Syrian opposition welcomed Daash with open arms.

August 5th, 2016, 11:02 am

49. UZAIR8
http://investmentwatchblog.com/in-the-recently-retaken-from-militants-daesh-the-area-of-bani-zayd-aleppo-syrian-army-discovered-cache-of-nato-weapons-among-the-interesting-finds-of-the-tow-2-atgm-and-milan/
http://eng.kurdistan-insider.com/2016/07/30/syrian-army-captured-nato-heavy-weapons-arsenal-in-armory-is-iblis-state-part1/
SO, it is not falsehoods. They’re not childish!

August 5th, 2016, 11:49 am

Alan, a Kurdish source? No surprise there!

August 5th, 2016, 12:41 pm

For MAJEDKHALDOUN, TARA, UZAIR8 and others left with a rancid taste in the mouth after reading the strange partisan piece by Ehsani above.

Here is something more objective, that clears the weeds and puts things back into focus:

“The case for finally bombing Assad”, NY Times August 3 2016 http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/03/opinion/the-case-for-finally-bombing-assad.html?_r=0

And it comes straight out of Hillary heartland!

August 5th, 2016, 1:39 pm

Very interesting and revealing point about the NY Times article above:

The authors are Obama’s former top advisers on Syria, both with very strong credentials and experience in the ME.

Obama replaced them with shallow propagandists with no track record in foreign affairs – let alone the ME – who he needed to help play out his weak and dishonest agenda.

August 5th, 2016, 1:50 pm

I just read a tweet directed at Obama that said: “While you chewed gum and played on your phone through all the briefings on Syria.”

August 5th, 2016, 1:56 pm

Say what you want about Hillary, as Secretary of State her job was to soak up many, many briefings on Syria (and Russia and Iran), and her advisers on foreign affairs have backgrounds with the State Dept, CIA and Pentagon.

Unlike the amateur, shamelessly naive and ruthless Obama “advisers” he deliberately selected.

August 5th, 2016, 2:07 pm

If Aleppo battle becomes successful for the Rebels, that is if, Assad will be forced to agree to political agreement ,where election is held free , province by province, that will leave Assad in Latakya, where 50%of the population are Sunni, , that will give the Kurds a province,

This is not what I like but what could happen, I am sure it will not end the conflict, and it will have major consequences

August 5th, 2016, 3:36 pm

52. UZAIR8
Jett Goldsmith source? No surprise there!

August 5th, 2016, 3:57 pm

Wahabi militias in Aleppo, are fighting largely Sunni Muslim soldiers of the Syrian arab army. Most of them from the city and province of Aleppo, you can hear their correct dialect of Aleppo. Therefore, alas, Srebrenica of hawks and war maniacs here is not glued !!!

August 5th, 2016, 4:10 pm

Looming signs the approach of the implementation of the CIA plan to assassinate Fethullah Gulen

August 5th, 2016, 4:33 pm

Syria “lover”

You opinion is funny mr. Lover. As a Syrian I have a different opinion than thou mr. “Syrialover”

Hillary Clinton put Jihadis in Syria with the group of people she side with : Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Qatar and to a lesser extent: Israel’s current government. They brought Jihadis in their uniforms from Libya for example through Turkey…

Obama did not agree with this as we all know by now…He did not get the bait and attack al-Assad..Hillary was working on her own as we find out from the wikileaks … a freelancer…

The question that matters here is: how many international Jihadis are now in Syria? you as a Hillarylover what do you expect Hillary to do about this?

August 5th, 2016, 9:29 pm

Erdogan’s crackdown on his domestic enemies is getting worse by the day. These are the numbers according to Erdo’s own internal security minister:
???? ???? ???????? ?????? ????? ??? ?? ????? ????? ???? ????? 75 ??? ???? ??? ?? ???? ????????? ??????? ??????? ???????? ??????? ???? 15 ??? 16 ?????/???? ??????.
????? ?????? ??? ?? ????? ????? 26 ??? ??? ??? ??? ???????? ????? ????? ?????? ??? ?? 74562 ???? ?? ??????? ??? ?? ?????? ?????????
?????? ???? ????? “????????” ?? 13419 ???? ?? ????? ????? ??? ????????
Real numbers are always worse but this is what Turkish authorities have admitted to:
26,000 arrested
13,000 still in custody
75,000 passports canceled

August 5th, 2016, 11:12 pm

Samir Al-Aytah (opposition) wrote an article in assafir (pro regime), it is a good read. Here is a small piece:
?????? ???????? ????? ?????? ?? ???? ????? ?? ????? ??? ????? ????????? ???????? ??? ???? ?????? ?????? ??????? – ????? ??? ?????? ????? ??? ?? ????? «??????? ????????» ?? ??????? ????? ??? ?????? ??????? ?? ???? ????? ?? ?????? ?????? ??? ??????? ?????? ?? ????? «???????».
Samir was brave enough to admit that Syrians have sinned and it is enough to throw blame on others.

August 6th, 2016, 12:28 am

?????? ?????? ?????? ?? ??? ?? ?????? ????? ??????? ? ???? ?????? ????? ??? ??? ??? ??????? ?? ?? ????? ???? ? ?? ???????? ? ? ????? ???? ??? ??? ???? ??? ????? ? ?? ?? ??????? ??????? ???????? ???? ? ???? ?????? ???? ??????? ?? ??? ? ??????? ? ??????? ???????? ?????? ?????? ??? ???? ?????? ???????? ???? ????? ??????

August 6th, 2016, 11:24 am

Faisal al-Qasem is acting like he is waking up after being in a coma for 5 years, he is now warning Syrians that foreign powers can only bring destruction to Syria, he this time included the opposition in his criticism:
??? ???? ?? ??? ????????? ?????? ????????? ????? ???? ????? ??????? ?????? ??? ??? ???? ?? ???? ??? ???. ??????? ?? ????? ?? ??????? ??????? ?? ?? ??????? ?? ?????? ????? ???? ???????? ??? ????? ?????? ????????? ?????? ????? ?? ?????? ?? ????????? ?? ???????? ?? ????? ????? ?????? ???????? ?????? ???????? ???? ????????. ?????? ?????? ???? ??? ??? ??? ???????? ??????? ???? ????? ?? ????? ????????? ?? ?????? ?????? ?? ????? ??? ???? ????? ??????? ?? ?????.
On Aleppo, it is too early to reach a conclusion because the battle is too important to both parties, the most rebels can do is lift the siege on their areas and even that is still an open project, Russia does not necessarily mind seeing Assad getting squeezed to convince him to compromise but that does not mean Putin will allow alqaeda terrorists to rule Aleppo. forget about occupying western Aleppo where 1.2 million people still live. On the political end, the opposition already lost, Rebels and alqaeda terrorists are now one force and that is bad news to Syrians and foreign powers alike. Ignore the fools who still talk about a “revolution” , this is a bloody Islamist uprising funded by foreign powers and controlled by terrorists on the ground, the fact that Syrians have plenty of reasons to revolt does not change the nature of the uprising.
?? ???? ? ???? ????

August 6th, 2016, 2:24 pm

Regarding Ehsani, he is a rabid regimist. I’ve seen his twitter line lately. Believe me check it yourself. He’s taking a battering on twitter by others (Robin Yassin-Kassab, Maysaloon and others).

[Checkout tweet link in Robin’s tweet]

https://mobile.twitter.com/Qunfuz1/status/761987633207705600?p=p

When I joined this site it was shortly before Ehsani left SC. Not being familiar with him, at the time I assumed he was the slightly pro-revolution if I remember correct. That’s how others described him I think. It was Camille who was the pro-regime moderator.

Recently I saw him on Prof Landis’ twitter but wasn’t sure it was the same Ehsani. Now we know. He really has gone the other way in a swing in position and isn’t much different from other regime-apologists. I’m sure he has his reasons but it is a bit of surprise. Nothing personal against him but his style and behaviour is provoking others to respond more bluntly.

Believe me if you read back his twitter line you’ll see Thomas Pierret referring to him as a ‘hopeless regime apologist’ in view of others. Also prominent twitter suspect his soureces are Mukhabarat.

Seriously checkout:

https://mobile.twitter.com/EHSANI22?p=s

SyriaLover.

I haven’t read the article as the page would have likely frozen my screen. However I did see Ehsani having a go at Table/Ross and their ‘poor judgement and analysis’.

August 6th, 2016, 3:36 pm

Like I said nothing personal. People have a right to a bit of background/context if his article is posted on here.

August 6th, 2016, 3:40 pm

Tom said:

The Syrian ‘rebels’ want the world believe their regime is worse than any other on earth and that the West should do a war on their behalf (+ support them with weapons), but what exactly made the regime worse between the moment it was fully cooperating with the US and the West (i.e. getting terrorists interrogated and tortured in the so-called rendition operations, as it was happening also in Jordan, Morocco and other friedly states) and 2011?
Another issue is the double language of the Islamists who when in KSA say that religion tells the believer not to revolt against the person in power but to endure and be patient, while it would go differently when they talk about Libya or Syria.
If the ‘rebels’ now believe that the IS revenge crimes in Europe will help their cause, they are as they have been from day one, in delusion. Reading history books doesn’t hurt.

August 6th, 2016, 4:01 pm

This is scary. This guy in previous weeks/months claimed secret/insider info (rebel meetings, plans etc) about this rebel offensive. He says was proven right. Now he claims we haven’t seen nothing yet. Regimists will be very nervous/terrified at these tweets:

Syrian Rebellion Obs @Syria_Rebel_Obs 25m
And now, Battle for #Aleppo begins… Don’t you see #SRO leaks ? Only 5 000 from Jaysh al-Fateh battled. Where are 10 000 others ?

[…]

– ‘You will see them soon. #Idlib armies are already marching toward #Aleppo. Thousands and thousands left their camps… ‘

https://mobile.twitter.com/Syria_Rebel_Obs/status/762016057703948288

August 6th, 2016, 4:34 pm

The repercussions and inquests are already beginning over the Aleppo situation. Pro-regime infighting, blame and accusations on twitter:

https://mobile.twitter.com/agitpapa/status/761943007549616128?p=p

What is to blame? :

– Iranian ‘incompetence’.
– Russian refusal (allegedly) ‘to give air cover & support’
– Maybe the ‘Fatemiyoun idiots’ are to blame?

August 6th, 2016, 5:14 pm

Couple of prominent (pro-regimist) tweets that reflect the significance of regime loss in Aleppo. Syrian Command becomes active now and then after many months of absence. On 31st July he returned with a handful of tweets.

? Syrian Commando ? @syriancommando Jul 31
The #Syria-n army must not allow the terrorists to make any gains in South #Aleppo or it will give those held in siege hope to fight on.

https://mobile.twitter.com/syriancommando?lang=en-gb

Leith Abou Fadel @leithfadel Aug 5
If the Syrian Army loses the artillery base; it will be devastating because they have a year’s worth of ammunition inside of it.

https://mobile.twitter.com/leithfadel/status/761610261077766145?p=p

August 6th, 2016, 6:52 pm

Muhannad Droubi was a fighter in the FSA. He fled to Sweden for “freedom” after his unit was dissolved but was arrested after video records and live testimonies found credible evidence that he committed war crimes. He was convicted yesterday and was sentenced to 8 years in prison, after that he will be expelled from Sweden. Many FSA fighters fled Syria with money they stole while fighting for freedom and democracy.

August 6th, 2016, 7:26 pm

Dear MBAJALI #61

Wrong. I don’t particularly love Hillary. If she wins office it will be because of Trump.

So no need for sarcasm and anger.

It’s always hard to for me understand why people spend so much time and furious energy blaming the US for what has happened in Syria.

They pull in little fragments here, little fragments there to create a small patch of “evidence” that is almost invisible beside the gigantic black shroud of death and destruction which Iran and Russia have wrapped around Syria.

The big problem is what America didn’t do – not what it did. It lost its influence and ability to assist the Syrian people because Obama decided to sacrifice Syria for a shaky one-sided deal over nuclear weaponry with a rogue government in Iran.

It’s been estimated that the “international jihadis”/ISIS you are so angry about are directly responsible for about 5% by number and value of the total destruction, deaths and dislocation in Syria. They have no bombing aircraft, no significant military hardware and little properly trained and equipped fighting forces or strategists. They took territory because the regime was incapable or unwilling to defend it.

Instead, the world saw for a long time the people who fought them with determination on the ground, trying to defend Syrians and get ISIS out of Syria, have been forces linked to the Syrian Opposition. A situation that suited the regime very well.

Today more than ever, for the regime and its foreign sponsors, Syrian civilians remain the main target first, second, third and fourth ahead of ISIS. Non-stop attacks by Russian bombing aircraft, helicopters with barrel bombs, ground offensives and mass starvation.

That’s where all the anger and moral outrage should be directed.

August 6th, 2016, 9:04 pm

If you want to know what America and the west might end up doing in Syria once Obama is gone, it will depend if there is anything left to defend and rescue.

But one thing we can expect is that ALL and ANY restoration, aid and assistance for what’s left of Syrians and their country will have to come from the west.

Not from the Iranians and Russians, who are not helping any Syrian refugees while creating hundreds of thousands more, and have been putting enormous effort and resources into destroying and emptying the country (and in Iran’s case, taking over Syrian property and territory it intends to retain).

It would be fantastic to see those countries forced to pay compensation to post-Assad Syria. Great chance! Puny, puffed up Russia has an economy about the size of Spain’s, and Iran’s income from high oil prices has gone forever.

Will MJABALI and others stand tough and abuse and blame the west and refuse western humanitarian, security, economic and technical assistance for Syrians when it’s all over?

Good luck with other Syrians reactions if they try it.

August 6th, 2016, 9:48 pm

Disgusting history of Israel .

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/article94113292.html

The democratic state of Israel stole the babies of Yemeni Jews because they were less of Jews than other Jews although I am sure they are as Jews as Moses …and the “better” Jews are nothing but white convert

This is not anti Semite. This is anti disgust

August 6th, 2016, 10:18 pm

https://mobile.twitter.com/EHSANI22/status/761667212612608000

Ihsani’s tweet!

August 6th, 2016, 10:29 pm

Correcting a mistake I made in #54 about the authors of “The case for finally bombing Assad”, NY Times August 3 2016.

I said they were both former advisers to the Obama regime. Only Dennis Ross is.

I was thinking of Frederic Hof, Obama’s former ambassador and special adviser for Syrian affairs. I had also been reading commentaries by Hof, which are pretty insightful and critical of what is happening in Syria while Obama makes mistakes with Iran and Russia.

I might put some of his comments here. They make good reading.

August 6th, 2016, 10:51 pm

Many supporters are in denial, most are in shock after the advances made by Nusra et al. However, keeping the new territories under jihadists control is what matters. If Putin chooses to watch or avoid a vigorous response more losses are likely, it gets harder for Air Force to make a difference when the fight moves to the streets and small areas. Regardless of what happens next, casualties among civilians are likely to mount and retaliatory strikes are inevitable, those strikes will include jihadists areas behind battle lines.
More importantly is what fighting parties want to do in the day after. Jihadists made it clear that they intend to attack western aleppo and that means a blood bath. There is no desire by Nusra to use military gains to force the regime to negotiate and that is why a cease fire will be very difficult to reach or implement. Do not pay attention to the ineffective political leadership in the opposition, they are pimps for Nusra and their mouthpieces here reflect that fact.

August 6th, 2016, 11:16 pm

Still Tara did not tell us how she found out that Ehsani is Christian?

August 7th, 2016, 6:19 am

Your logic leaves lots of room for sarcasm for Syrians like me….

Of course you did not answer my main question: how many international Jihadis are now in Syria? and who brought them?

making it simple for you….

August 7th, 2016, 6:26 am

Uzair: Jihadi Jihad…

Ehsani is a Syrian and you are not…so whatever he says about the country he came from is his right…your inquisition watching every word he tweets is ludicrous to describe it correctly….

Wondering why you never joined al-Nusra or ISIS or…or…or…or…..or…..

International Jihadis like you are the problem of Syria now…

August 7th, 2016, 6:35 am

I’m not a Jihadi.

There will be a time to speak about them frankly. Right now the major threat to the Syrian people is the Regime/Russia/Iran/ISIS.

Long live the FSA!!!

August 7th, 2016, 2:52 pm

Uzair8

The major threat to the Syrian people are people like you.

Your interest in Syria is the same as the Jihadis.

Your rhetoric is the same as the Jihadis.

You promote the same ideas as the Jihadis.

Your country Pakistan needs your efforts.

Your ideas does not fit us Syrians.

Take beer…..

PS: your name could be that of a rocket made by the Jihadis…Uzair8…Uzair7 reached only local streets…

August 7th, 2016, 11:50 pm

Amid the ecstasy of victory, we must never forget the real strategy, it is to keep war going on , and not to see military solution to any side, that is the strategy of Obama and Putin, what happened in Aleppo is to put pressure on Assad and the Rebels to go to Geneva

August 8th, 2016, 10:19 am

ryan said:

Can someone answer one particular question – Ehsani mentions a supposed “western source” or “western sources” who cite opposition communication supporting the idea that the Jisr al Shughur massacre was an opposition act.

While I’ve seen various sources say various interesting things that ultimately don’t quite nail the answer to the question of who is responsible, I’ve not been able to find any other mentions of this ‘western source’ and the idea of opposition communications having been tapped.

Can someone provide with links to any media that have reported this?

August 9th, 2016, 3:09 pm