Behind the Lines: News from the house of slaughter
11/30/2012 04:26
In the large slaughterhouse that Syria has become, a new phase is opening up. The stalemate that held for most of 2012 between the forces of the Assad regime and the insurgency against it no longer exists. Rather, the rebels are making slow and steady gains. There is a real possibility that all of northern Syria will fall to the rebellion in the coming months.
Yet while the rebels are pushing back the beleaguered forces of Assad, no unified leadership of the insurgency has yet come into being. Predictably, the best organized and most politically sophisticated elements among the insurgents are those identifying with one version or another of Sunni Islamism.
This is enabling the regime to maintain the core support of members of the Syrian Alawi community, who rightly fear what awaits them in the event of a rebel victory. It is also creating tensions between elements of the rebellion and the inhabitants of the Kurdish north-eastern part of Syria, where there is little enthusiasm either for Islamism or for a strong new centralized government in Damascus.
The Free Syrian Army and its allies are currently in the process of snuffing out remaining pockets of regime strength in the north of the country. This is an arduous and sometimes costly business, but its end is not in doubt.
Read more: http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.aspx?id=294068
