Syria under Bashir Assad (closed end 2014)

[davidbfpo]

A long article by a SME via Open Democracy; with a short opening summary:

Why is the Syrian Army, against all predictions, winning the war in Syria? One has to delve into the history of the Syrian state since independence to understand how the military shaped the state and learned to divide its opponents.

Link:http://www.opendemocracy.net/arab-aw...-allconquering

Some history given refers to fighting the IDF, which was a "hot" topic on another thread on the 1982 war.

[Bill Moore]

A long article by a SME via Open Democracy; with a short opening summary:

Link:http://www.opendemocracy.net/arab-aw...-allconquering

Some history given refers to fighting the IDF, which was a "hot" topic on another thread on the 1982 war.

Not all of predicted the Syrian army would lose. I never saw any indication they would. They maintained external support, they're moderately well trained for an Arab army, they're willing to fight, and their opposition is divided.

Those that predicted his fall were the hardcore population centric crowd who think popular will is the determining factor. Hopefully this serves as a wake up call to challenge some of our naive views on warfare. I also don't think we should have provided support to the rebels. The only faction organized enough to establish control were the extremists. Live and learn or not.