Article

2013-06-06 Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Syria: Assad's rearmed and regrouped forces sense turn of the tide

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Posted by Fred 2013-06-06 00:00|| || Front Page|| [6 views ] Top
File under: Govt of Syria

#1 Sunni arabs outnumber Alawites 6 to 1, which means they will win a war of attrition.

Posted by phil_b 2013-06-06 01:34|| 2013-06-06 01:34|| Front Page Top

#2 Sunni arabs outnumber Alawites 6 to 1, which means they will win a war of attrition.

Wars of attrition are conflicts in which two parties are rough balance. Once Assad is able to starve the rebels of manpower and weaponry by controlling most of Syria's territory, the trench warfare stops and the only thing left to do is to mop up. The Greeks, Mongols, Turks and Arabs (during the expansion of Muhammad's armies through North Africa, Persia, Central and South Asia) are only a few of the more notable examples of minorities ruling majorities. Most ordinary people of the majority aren't Spartans bred for war and they're not willing to risk their lives to become serfs under a new autocrat. And the strong prospect of a new leader just like the old one has been the reality of life in the Middle East, and most of the non-Western world. Always has been and perhaps always will be.

Posted by Zhang Fei 2013-06-06 07:02|| 2013-06-06 07:02|| Front Page Top

#3 The indigenous fighters in Syria (both pro assad and anti assad) are now less important than the exogenous fighters (Hezbollah for assad and various jihadis against assad)

The pro assad forces took two weeks to take a relatively small town near the Lebanon border where the Hezbollah troops had favorable logistics.

Lets see how they do in the countryside.

Posted by lord garth 2013-06-06 11:33|| 2013-06-06 11:33|| Front Page Top

#4 Lets see how they do in the countryside.

Let's hope it's long, bloody, and destroys a lot of infrastructure.

Posted by g(r)omgoru 2013-06-06 11:35|| 2013-06-06 11:35|| Front Page Top

#5 g(rom), I agree. While I feel sorry for the ordinary Syrian who is caught in the crossfire, I really hope both sides lose.

Posted by Rambler in Virginia 2013-06-06 14:54|| 2013-06-06 14:54|| Front Page Top

#6 Both sides lose no just the side that starts it loses just look at history, Hitler Bunker D-Day! The right people will lose and lose big!

Posted by Snise Cruter2274 2013-06-06 18:01|| 2013-06-06 18:01|| Front Page Top

#7 The pro assad forces took two weeks to take a relatively small town near the Lebanon border where the Hezbollah troops had favorable logistics.

I believe that's where the rebels had favorable logistics. Qusair is near the northernmost part of Lebanon, where Lebanese Sunnis dominate. Hezbollah is based in South Lebanon, where the vast majority of Lebanon's Shiites live. To put things in perspective, it took the Marines 1-1/2 months to clear Fallujah, which had 2x-3x the population, and they had pinpoint air and artillery support. And they were Marines. The Syrian military is merely relearning the lessons of Hama. It needs to concentrate its forces and take apart rebel cities one by one. It's not fighting all the Sunnis in Syria - it's only fighting the people who feel they have a chance of becoming big shots in a new regime and are willing to roll the dice with their lives in hopes of doing so.

Posted by Zhang Fei 2013-06-06 19:32|| 2013-06-06 19:32|| Front Page Top

#8 It's all BS, dewds. Don't believe a word of it.

Posted by Cheager Angoluque6848 2013-06-06 21:34|| 2013-06-06 21:34|| Front Page Top

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