[LA Times, sorry] - "Basically, it's Berlin after World War II," says Barazi, who as governor of Homs province has seen much of the area under his jurisdiction destroyed by Syria's civil war. He tries to put up a brave front."We have to face reality," he says. "Some of Homs will be rebuilt, but some will have to be torn down completely. We can't just look at all the ruins and feel sad and lament what happened."
There will be no Marshall plan for Syria. Saudi Arabia will not pay to rebuild Syria. Iran and Russia can't afford to either. Even if Putin wins, he has already lost. Syria is finished.
| They'll rebuild, as they have rebuilt before. Picturesque historic ruins have never created themselves, and the Arab world has a great many of them. |