BLOG, INTERNATIONAL

THE ROJAVA REVOLUTION IN SYRIA

JANUARY 6, 2015 AWSM MEMBER 2 COMMENTS

From the chaos of the Syrian Revolution the existence of a radical experiment in democracy has slowly emerged. The project in Rojava, in the north of Syria, has been instigated by the Democratic Union Party (the PYD) and its militias the People’s Protection Units (The YPG), and the all-female Women’s Protection Units (The YPJ), in alliance with the Turkish Kurdistan Workers’ Party (the PKK). The PKK itself appears to have experienced its own (r)evolution, with the conversion of its leader Abdullah Ocalan, imprisoned by the Turks since 1999, away from the desire to create a Kurdish State and instead adopting an idea of “libertarian municipalism” inspired by social ecologist Murray Bookchin. Instead of a highly centralised state, which was once its aim, the PKK now claims that it sees its aims for the Kurds to be living in free, self-governing communities, based on direct democracy and paying no heed to national borders.[i]

Three non-contiguous autonomous areas or cantons, Efrin, Cizire, and Kobane, have been set up. In every canton there exists a Legislative Assembly, an Executive Assembly, a Constitutional Assembly, and Regional Assemblies, as proscribed under a written collective political structure (the Social Contract).[ii] Delegates to the Assemblies are elected with an ethnic balance reflecting the population of the area, and guaranteeing a 40 per cent female presence, and a model of co-presidency means each political entity always has both a female and a male president.

After visiting the area in December 2014, Janet Biehl described how power flows from the bottom upwards in this system through several tiers, namely the neighbourhood, district, city, and canton. All levels are made up of delegates whose role is only to convey the wishes of the people to the next level up.[iii] Saleh Muslim Mohamed, co-president of the PYD, has described how this system is leading to the education and politicising of the people, “You have to reject the idea that you have to wait for some leader to come and tell the people what to do,” he explains, “and instead learn to exercise self-rule as a collective practice…The people themselves educate each other. When you put 10 people together and ask them for a solution to a problem or propose them a question, they collectively look for an answer. I believe in this way they will find the right one. This collective discussion will make them politicised.”[iv]

“Free Kurds do not recognize borders”. Image from http://roarmag.org/2014/07/rojava-autonomy-syrian-kurds/

Some anarchists have dismissed the experiment as merely another statist project creating a new ruling class and government. The link with the PKK in particular has meant that the situation has been problematic for some; for example, the Anarchist Federation has criticised Ocalan’s Stalinist past and doubted his commitment to radical democracy, and anti-capitalist ideas.[v] Also, they point out the negative aspects of a planned dual structure which would see the assemblies running alongside a parliament based along western democratic lines.

Other commentators though, notably the anarchist anthropologist David Graeber, have been more accepting of the project, and argued that it is revolutionary and offering an example to an alternative way of organising the world.[vi]   There is also a viewpoint that while the Rojavan project may not be anarchist, it is worthy of support for it’s democratic confederalism opens up space for further changes, and could be inspiring for rebels elsewhere.[vii]

This is an incredibly brief overview of a situation that has generated a huge amount of words over the last few weeks. Arguments have been flowing back and forth over the question of whether anarchists should be supportive of the Rojava project. For those interested, the resources below may help shed some light on the various discussions and points of view.

Further reading:

About

Useful article describing the workings of the democratic confederalism of Rojava:

• http://new-compass.net/articles/revolution-rojava

Regular news from the Revolution in Rojava and Wider Kurdistan:

• http://rojavareport.wordpress.com

A link to a book length examination of Rojava based around interviews by members of a solidarity group who briefly visited the area in 2011, which, while being clearly from a perspective sympathetic to the PKK, provide thought provoking glimpses into the practical implementation of a new left vision:

• http://new-compass.net/publications/democratic-autonomy-north-kurdistan

A couple of useful articles giving an overview and explanation of the adoption of Bookchin’s ideas by the PKK under Ocalan’s direction and a brief sketch of their implementation in Rojava:

• http://roarmag.org/2014/07/rojava-autonomy-syrian-kurds/
• http://roarmag.org/2014/08/pkk-kurdish-struggle-autonomy/

 Local anarchist perspective

An interview with the Kurdish Anarchist Forum:

• http://www.indymedia.org.nz/articles/1410

The interview can also be found in issue 12 of Imminent Rebellion:

• http://www.rebelpress.org.nz/publications/imminent-rebellion-12

 Anarchists supporting the project

An interview with David Graeber, the anarchist anthropologist, championing the Rojava project:

• https://zcomm.org/znetarticle/no-this-is-a-genuine-revolution/

More from Graeber with his examples of how he sees the Rojava revolution as being anti-capitalist:

• http://nicolasphebus.tumblr.com/post/106580014578/some-concrete-examples-of-how-the-rojav

An ‘Anarchist Communist’ reply to the Workers Solidarity Alliance (WSA) article below:

• http://www.anarkismo.net/article/27540

Anarchists critical of the project

An article casting aspersions on the true revolutionary nature of the Rojava situation:

• http://www.servetdusmani.org/rojava-fantasies-and-realities/

A critical article recently published on the Ideas and Action website of the North America-based Workers Solidarity Alliance (WSA):

• http://ideasandaction.info/2014/10/rojava-anarcho-syndicalist-perspective/

Various articles on Rojava, OcalanBookchin and Ocalan, by Janet Biel, including useful sociological and historical background:

• http://www.biehlonbookchin.com
• http://new-compass.net/article/kurdish-communalism

 Further reading:

If you appetite is whetted then heaps more resources are listed here:

• http://anarchism.pageabode.com/andrewnflood/resources-rojava-revolution-kurdistan-syria
• http://cooperativa.cat/en/rojava-building-a-better-world/(including video)

References:

[i] https://libcom.org/news/rojava-people’s-war-not-class-war-25122014 [Last accessed 06/01/2014]

[ii] http://civiroglu.net/the-constitution-of-the-rojava-cantons/ [Last accessed 06/01/2014]

[iii] http://www.biehlonbookchin.com/poor-in-means/ [Last accessed 06/01/2014]

[iv] In an interview with Green Left Weeklyhttps://www.greenleft.org.au/node/57795 [Last accessed 06/01/2014]

[v] http://www.afed.org.uk/blog/international/435-anarchist-federation-statement-on-rojava-december-2014.html [Last accessed 06/01/2014]

[vi] https://zcomm.org/znetarticle/no-this-is-a-genuine-revolution/[Last accessed 06/01/2014]

[vii] http://www.anarkismo.net/article/27540 [Last accessed 06/01/2014]

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if this video link is dead do a YouTube search for

THE BATTLE FOR SYRIA - VIEW FROM THE FRONTLINE 

This video shows the reality of what is going on in Syria. Foreigners invading Syria and forcing their brutality on the people. This is NOT a civil war this is WAR. Turkey, Saudi,Qatari, Muslim Brotherhood, al-Qaeda, and about 20 other foreign groups like ISIS and al Nusra killing civilians for crimes as petty as smoking cigarettes or just being the wrong religion. Hostage taking and ransoms are everyday ops for the bad guys. 

Syrian Kurds 'drive Islamic State out of Kobane'

Kurdish forces have driven Islamic State (IS) militants from Kobane, officials say, ending a four-month battle for the northern Syrian town.

Fighters from the Popular Protection Units (YPG) were said to have entered outlying areas in the east of the town after the jihadists retreated.

The US said anti-IS forces were in control of 90% of the town.

Kobane was seen as a major test of the US-led coalition's strategy to combat IS in Syria with air strikes.

Tens of thousands of people fled over the nearby border with Turkey after IS launched an offensive in September, capturing about 300 nearby villages before entering the predominantly Kurdish town itself.

The fighting has left at least 1,600 people dead, among them 1,196 jihadists, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says.

'Final clean-up'

Photographs posted on social media on Monday afternoon showed the YPG flag being flown around Kobane, and male and female fighters shaking hands. As night fell, celebratory gunfire echoed across the town.

A senior Syrian Kurdish official said the situation in Kobane's eastern outskirts was still "a little tense"

Analysis: Paul Wood, BBC News

The Kurds in Kobane are jubilant. After 131 days of fighting, they say they have triumphed over the so-called Islamic State.

If this is indeed the victory the Kurds claim, it would not have happened without American bombing.

This setback for IS does not necessarily mean they are losing overall.

Syrian opposition sources say IS actually have more territory under their control now than when the United States and its allies started bombing, last August.

In Iraq, the authorities say Islamic State have been pushed out of the eastern province of Diyala - but the jihadis have made gains to control most of the western province of Anbar.

The battle against IS is ultimately a battle for Sunni Muslim public opinion - and Sunnis have been angered by the civilians casualties in their areas caused by US airstrikes.

Activists estimated that at least 1,600 people have been killed in the battle for the town

YPG spokesman Polat Jan meanwhile declared on Twitter: "Congratulations to humanity, Kurdistan, and the people of Kobane on the liberation of Kobane."

Anwar Muslim, the president of the self-declared Syrian Kurdish canton of Kobane, told the BBC that the town was fully under the control of the YPG and Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga fighters who were deployed in October.

However, he added that the situation in the eastern outskirts was still "a little tense", with YPG fighters carrying out "the final clean-up" and besieging areas they believed IS leaders might be hiding.

A statement from US Central Command congratulated the Kurdish fighters, AFP reported.

"While the fight against ISIL (IS) is far from over, ISIL's failure in Kobane has denied them one of their strategic objectives," it said.

The advance by Kurdish forces came after several days of heavy aerial bombardment by coalition aircraft.

The Pentagon said it had carried out 17 air strikes in the 24 hours from the morning of 25 January, targeting IS "tactical units" and "fighting positions", as well as vehicle and staging areas.

The retired US general co-ordinating the coalition, John Allen, predicted in November that IS would "impale itself" on Kobane, and analysts said its loss would be a symbolic and strategic blow for the group, which wants to control an uninterrupted stretch of the Syrian-Turkish border.

Kobane almost cleared of ISIS

January 2015, The YPG and YPJ has been battling ISIS for Months now. At first Turkey was blocking Kurds from bringing in men and material to fight ISIS. ISIS never gained full control of the city. They are still in good defensive positions on Eastern Kobane. The American air strikes may have helped some but without the Kurdish forces on the ground Kobane would now be in ISIS hands and the nut cases would be killing civilians for minor crimes or smoking cigarettes? Daesh is the scum of the earth,

This was done without the #FSA (who are not one militia but many and ever changing groups)

Now even before the battle for #Kobane is over the Kurds in Iraq have started to advance on ISIS forces in Mosul.

Hopefully we can get "Syrian" some boots on the ground to dislodge ISIS from Raqqa. 

U.S. to begin training more rebels in Syria But does the math add up?

And so the dance continues. Obama continues to court Militant Rebel groups is Syria. There was over 40 rebel groups in Aleppo in 2013. There is a lot less now, approx. 20. The rebel groups range from neighborhood gang like groups with a few hundred fighting men, to groups like al Nusra with approx 5-7k fighters. However these groups also put locals on the payroll. Jobs like lobbing grenades at regime forces, to selling a child to be used as a suicide bomber (families are often forced or coerced/threatened and the children are as young as 8 or 9, many of the children are orphans), also paying some citizens for intel on who may not be loyal to the terrorist,s who have taken control of their town, and payment for the military needs to eat and drink, and so on.  This can make a force 2 - 3 times its core grouping. ISIS numbers are 30k + depending on way you look at who is a militant, or on the payroll, just trying to buy bread.

Assad/Regime Forces are 200-400k regularly military. The Assad Regime has popular support in regime held areas, and areas taken back from the rebels. 80-90% popularity/support in areas that have seen very little conflict, to 70-80% in areas taken back from rebels. 

Military service age and obligation (this data from CIA factbook):
18 years of age for compulsory and voluntary military service; conscript service obligation is 18 months; women are not conscripted but may volunteer to serve; re-enlistment obligation 5 years, with retirement after 15 years or age 40 (enlisted) or 20 years or age 45 (NCOs) (2012)

Looks like a kinda sweet deal retirement at age 40-45 after only 15 - 20 years of service in the military. Now if you have been in the Military for even 5 years, if the Assad Regime fails you lose pensions, and job and may become a political prisoner. Hell I would fight for that alone.

But we know the real reason Syrians are fighting is they want to remain a Secular Society and Nation. Every rebel group is Sunni Arab (many Wahhabi) in their top military/fighting ranks). It does not take a genius to see why a total of 50-60k rebels (including all groups ISIS, al nusra, FSA, etc.) yet no central organized control or leadership between those 20 rebel groups....... .......will not likely win against a Regime force of 400k and another 200k + Civilian Guards (Men and Women) that have local backing. As well as Pro-Regime militias like Shabiha and  Jaysh al-Sha'bi maybe another 5-20k. This is why I hope The Syrian Kurds sign pacts with the Regime, before the groups like ISIS get crushed into only hundreds of militants on the hide or run. - Ian Bach

"CNN)The U.S. military will deploy 400 trainers and hundreds more troops in a train-and-equip mission for Syrian rebel forces, the Pentagon said Friday.

The American troops will be deployed starting in early spring on six- to eight-week missions in three countries -- Turkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia -- as part of the Obama administration's plan to expand training for moderate Syrian rebels."

Cheers to #twitterkurds, and all those who fight for the rule of secular law.

Lets fight the real enemies of Syria which include #daesh, #daash, #IS, #ISIS, and influential donors and backers of the War on Syria from Turkey, Qatar, al Jazzera, the Wahhabis, Saudi arabia, Kuwait and elsewhere.

U.S. to begin training more rebels in Syria But does the math add up?

And so the dance continues. Obama continues to court Militant Rebel groups is Syria. There was over 40 rebel groups in Aleppo in 2013. There is a lot less now, approx. 20. The rebel groups range from neighborhood gang like groups with a few hundred fighting men, to groups like al Nusra with approx 5-7k fighters. However these groups also put locals on the payroll. Jobs like lobbing grenades at regime forces, to selling a child to be used as a suicide bomber (families are often forced or coerced/threatened and the children are as young as 8 or 9, many of the children are orphans), also paying some citizens for intel on who may not be loyal to the terrorist,s who have taken control of their town, and payment for the military needs to eat and drink, and so on.  This can make a force 2 - 3 times its core grouping. ISIS numbers are 30k + depending on way you look at who is a militant, or on the payroll, just trying to buy bread.

Assad/Regime Forces are 200-400k regularly military. The Assad Regime has popular support in regime held areas, and areas taken back from the rebels. 80-90% popularity/support in areas that have seen very little conflict, to 70-80% in areas taken back from rebels. 

Military service age and obligation (this data from CIA factbook):
18 years of age for compulsory and voluntary military service; conscript service obligation is 18 months; women are not conscripted but may volunteer to serve; re-enlistment obligation 5 years, with retirement after 15 years or age 40 (enlisted) or 20 years or age 45 (NCOs) (2012)

Looks like a kinda sweet deal retirement at age 40-45 after only 15 - 20 years of service in the military. Now if you have been in the Military for even 5 years, if the Assad Regime fails you lose pensions, and job and may become a political prisoner. Hell I would fight for that alone.

But we know the real reason Syrians are fighting is they want to remain a Secular Society and Nation. Every rebel group is Sunni Arab (many Wahhabi) in their top military/fighting ranks). It does not take a genius to see why a total of 50-60k rebels (including all groups ISIS, al nusra, FSA, etc.) yet no central organized control or leadership between those 20 rebel groups....... .......will not likely win against a Regime force of 400k and another 200k + Civilian Guards (Men and Women) that have local backing. As well as Pro-Regime militias like Shabiha and  Jaysh al-Sha'bi maybe another 5-20k. This is why I hope The Syrian Kurds sign pacts with the Regime, before the groups like ISIS get crushed into only hundreds of militants on the hide or run. - Ian Bach

"CNN)The U.S. military will deploy 400 trainers and hundreds more troops in a train-and-equip mission for Syrian rebel forces, the Pentagon said Friday.

The American troops will be deployed starting in early spring on six- to eight-week missions in three countries -- Turkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia -- as part of the Obama administration's plan to expand training for moderate Syrian rebels."

Cheers to #twitterkurds, and all those who fight for the rule of secular law.

Lets fight the real enemies of Syria which include #daesh, #daash, #IS, #ISIS, and influential donors and backers of the War on Syria from Turkey, Qatar, al Jazzera, the Wahhabis, Saudi arabia, Kuwait and elsewhere.

ISIS FACING DEADLY BACKLASH IN SYRIA?

The terror group ISIS has reportedly lost its control of the majority of Kobani, a border town in northern Syria which the militants have fought regional Kurdish forces over for months, according to an activist group and a Kurdish official.

Kurdish leader Idriss Nassan told the Associated Press that, with the help of U.S. and allied airstrikes, his fighters had wrested control of 80 percent of Kobani, and all of the key central zone where the police and other agencies are based.

“The advance has become faster and the airstrikes are more intense,” he told the AP, adding that his fighters could control the whole city “hopefully within days.”

Meanwhile, further south in ISIS’ stronghold of Deir Ezzor province, at least three members of the group have been attacked in recent days under circumstances which suggest possible vigilantes.

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based group which relies on information from an extensive network of activists and informants on the ground in Syria, the decapitated body of one of the top figures in ISIS’ pseudo police force was found in the town of al-Mayadeen, in rural Deir Ezzor province. His body bore signs of torture.

“We do not know whether Islamic State killed him or whether it was local people or other fighters,” the Observatory’s Rami Abdulrahman told the Reuters news agency, using ISIS’ own name for the group.

Also in al-Mayadeen, another ISIS fighter was run over in an apparent deliberate hit and run attack, leaving him in critical condition. A third member of the group was attacked by two masked men on a motorcycle. He was repeatedly beaten with a metal stick on the head and sustained life-threatening injuries.

The rudimentary nature of the attacks in al-Mayadeen suggest they may not have been carried out by rival Syrian rebel groups, or ISIS itself, which has frequently executed its own members accused of betraying the group.

(Read the rest of the Article here)

#kobane #kobani #YPG #YPJ #aynalarab #syria

THE A FORCE AND THE “THE MAGIC GANG”

In January 1941, General Wavell, commander of British forces in north Africa, created a unit called A Force, which was dedicated to counter-intelligence and deception. By this stage, deception was playing a major part in the war effort, following Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s maxim that ‘in war, truth should be accompanied by a bodyguard of lies’. In some cases there would be a concerted effort to mislead the enemy with a single convincing deception; in others, the aim would be to create confusion by suggesting a range of plausible alternatives.

http://ianbachusa.wordpress.com/2007/04/21/the-a-force-and-the-the-magic-gang/

Counterinsurgency Resources - New Pages at my Site

I have started a page for COIN Resources. If anyone has some additional sources please leave comment on that page, Thanks. - Ian Bach


Ian Bach - Counter Insurgency Blog: Counterinsurgency Resources: Twenty-Eight Articles: Fundamentals of Company-Level Counterinsurgency by Dr. David Kilcullen, Lieutenant Colonel, Australian Army Edito...CLICK HERE for the NEW PAGES & RESOURCES




Photo is David Kicullen - Aussie COIN EXPERT

I will be adding many resources of what COIN Strategies that I see being implemented and ones that need to be implemented. Lots of stuff on #Kobani, #Kobane, #aynalarab, #aynalislam, #YPG, #IS, #ISIS, #ISIL, #YPJ, #yezedi, #COIN, #counterinsurgency,

Kobani November 24, 2014 Kobane

Daily Update:

I will be trying to do daily updates on whats up in Kobani as this seems to be a big topic of interest not only for me but for many of my readers here. Be sure to like posts, and make comments, ask questions, etc.
- Ian Bach 11-12-2014

Kurds in Kobani take
ground from Islamic State (lead article)

BY BRIAN WILLIAMSKurdish fighters in Kobani have been pushing back Islamic State’s nearly two-month-long siege of that city in northern Syria. At the same time, Washington is increasing its troops in Iraq from 1,500 to nearly 3,000.
Fighting along with the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) in Kobani are 155 Peshmerga soldiers with artillery from the semi-autonomous Kurdish areas of northern Iraq. They traveled through Turkish territory at the end of October with much needed heavy weaponry to counter the bigger and better armed Islamic State forces.
Until then, Ankara had blocked any fighters or weapons from getting into Kobani. But pressure mounted on the Turkish government as week after week millions in Turkey and around the world watched courageous men and women in Kobani holding off Islamic State forces in spite of a fatalistic expectation of the city’s imminent fall by the big-business media and government officials of Ankara and Washington. The Turkish government has relented to allow some Peshmerga from Iraq through, but still prevents Kurds from Turkey from joining the battle. (Click here for the entire story)

US air strikes in Syria driving anti-Assad groups to support Isis – The Guardian

The Guardian
US air strikes in Syria driving anti-Assad groups to support Isis
The Guardian
These and other Syrian fighters told the Guardian in interviews by phone and Skype that the US campaign is turning the attitudes of Syrian opposition groups and fighters in favour of Isis. Omar Waleed, an FSA fighter in Hama, north of Damascus, said …
US-led airstrikes in Syria kill over 900, activist group saysCBC.ca
What It's Like to Teach in Syria Under ISIS RuleABC News
Group: Death toll of US-led airstrikes in Syria tops 900 New US strikes …CNN
Reuters -Fox News -CTV News

Two Britons Join Fight Against IS In Syria – Sky News

BBC News
Two Britons Join Fight Against IS In Syria
Sky News
The sister of a former British soldier fighting against the Islamic State in Syria has told Sky News he is there to help others and his family are proud of him. Lara Hughes' brother James travelled to the war-torn country with friend Jamie Read to join …
UK fighters in Syria 'not mercenaries'BBC News
Former British infantryman joins Kurdish fighters in Syria defending …Daily Mail
Two British citizens 'killed fighting for Islamic State in Syria'The Guardian
ITV News -Herald Scotland -The Independe

Syria could be next target of Canada's CF-18s

U.S. Senator John McCain calls coalition strategy in Iraq 'delusional'

(* I do agree with John McCain about the Strategy is non-sense, but McCain's is not any better. The best strategy would be to recognize that COIN is all that will work and we need to align with Assad and Iran so that we can let the local ethnic people do the hard work that is needed. COIN tells us that bringing in people from far away lands to fight does not work, often the locals would end up siding with the bad guys if they share a religion or ethnic make-up. It would be like if Iranian troops came to America to fight anglo saxon christian militants, most likely we would back the bad guys, because we can relate more to our enemy in that case. - Ian Bach)
By Evan Solomon, CBC News Posted: Nov 22, 2014 7:00 AM ET Last Updated: Nov 23, 2014 1:29 PM ET

Behind closed doors, Canadian officials are working feverishly to prepare for Canadian jets to strike targets inside Syria, CBC News has learned. 

Sources have told CBC that Canada is close to clearing away “the legal hurdles” that stand in the way of extending the combat mission from Iraq into Syria, should the government decide to expand the mission.

The legal case is critical, because, unlike Iraq, whose government invited Canada and its coalition partners to join the fight against ISIS, Syria under its leader Bashar al-Assad is considered an enemy. The U.S. has laws that allow it to engage in pre-emptive strikes in a sovereign nation, but Canada does not.

• Listen online to CBC Radio's The House
• Iraq targets limited for Canadian fighter jets

"We have, out of necessity, had these discussions with our allies," Justice Minister Peter MacKay told CBC Radio’s The House when asked if preparations are being made to hit ISIS targets in Syria.

"We're operating against an enemy that does not respect any borders,” he said.  

(click here for the rest of the Article)

Syrian Christians: 'Help us to stay - stop arming terrorists'

Christianity is being extinguished in the land of its birth and the West is to blame, say Syria's faithful

Outgoing artillery shook St Elias church as the priest reached the end of the Lord's Prayer.

The small congregation kept their eyes on the pulpit, kneeling when required and trying to ignore the regular thuds that rattled the stained glass windows above them.

Home to one of the oldest Christian communities in the world, the hard to reach Syrian agricultural town of Izraa has stood the comings and goings of many empires over the centuries.

But as the country's civil war creeps closer, it is threatening to force the town's Christians into permanent exile: never to return, they fear.

"I have been coming to this church since I was born," said Afaf Azam, 52. "But now the situation is very bad. Everyone is afraid. Jihadists control villages around us."

(click here to view entire article)

(* wow these guys at yahoo are always on the wrong side of reality. But it is awesome to see the rebels getting ousted out of Aleppo.
Notice this headline below?.......................Under siege by the Government? I guess that means that the Southeast of America was "under siege" by Abraham Lincolns terrible monstrous army.!!! egad how dumb.)

Aleppo, Syria, could soon be under siege by government troops – Los Angeles Times

Yahoo News UK
Aleppo, Syria, could soon be under siege by government troops
Los Angeles Times
Syrian troops are on the brink of surrounding the rebel-held portion of Aleppo, a major setback for the opposition, which has increasingly found itself on the defensive and losing territory in the war. The outgunned antigovernment fighters are…
Echoes of a once famed nightlife in Syria's ravaged Aleppo

Rights group: Coalition airstrikes in Syria killed 900, including women and children

Fred Lambert ALEPPO, Syria, Nov. 22 (UPI) — A Syrian human rights group released a report alleging coalition airstrikes have killed 910 people in the country, with the bulk being Islamic State fighters

(crazy part is the US has guided missiles that cost tons (when they accidentally kill a civilian it's oops sorry. But when Assad uses his air force and they use the cheap version of a guided bomb, which is a brrle bomb. The western media has effectively been depicting Assad and the Syrian military as brutal. But we can also say the USA was brutal in vietnam, during their own civil war, Iraq 2003-2010 Afghanistan 2001-present, Yemen and Omen continous guided missle, Paksitan 2001 - present. I wonder what would happen if the USA started to use guided bombs when they thought there was a terrorist in a house in the USA or Canada? no that prob won't happen. But if the USA had 10s of thousands of militant people trying to overthrow the governemnt I bet they would be fighting for all they are worth also.)