The main stream media have just about put a total blackout on news of events in Syria; the few articles that get written are almost hidden from view. The truth, however, is that there is a major new story coming from Syria. On Tuesday night, the Free Syrian army attacked an Air Force intelligence post in the suburbs of Damascus. The attack was unsuccessful, but the impact of the attack is great.
First, the attack was carried out by a group of soldiers who have defected from the Assad force to what now must be called the rebels. Syria has moved from having protests to having armed military opposition.
Second, the attack served notice on the Assad forces that they could be attacked anywhere, even in the Damascus area. The target of Airforce Intelligence was also important because this is one of the entities that carry out much of the brutal Assad attack on the protesters.
Third, as events in Syria morph from protests to an armed uprising led by a group with headquarters in Turkey, the chance for widespread war increases dramatically. If the Assad forces attack the Free Syrian group in its headquarters in Turkey, will the Turks look the other way? Will the Turks invade Syria? Will Turkey call upon its NATO allies to come to its defense? Will Iran come to the aid of its Syrian client state?
The possibility of major conflict cannot be discounted. Assad is not acting in a rational way designed to end the conflict. Instead, Assad's goal seems clearly to destroy all opposition no matter what the cost. There needs to be some guidance put to this situation by America and our NATO allies, but president Obama has remained too busy campaigning to get involved.
No comments:
Post a Comment