Have you ever heard of Tuftanaz? Unless you follow the European or Asian press, I doubt it. In many respects, Tuftanaz is the most important place in world news of the last 24 hours. It is the airbase in northern Syria from which the Assad forces have been blasting rebel positions for the last many months. Early Friday, the rebels announced that they have now overrun that base and defeated the Assad forces defending the place. The rebels have been using light weapons to attack Tuftanaz for months in an attempt to end the airstrikes that have been inflicted upon them. The heavily armed Assad forces held them off, but no more.
The fall of Tuftanaz is a mortal blow to Assad. It means that essentially all of northern Syria is now in rebel hands. It ends much of the ability of the Assad regime to project power into the area. Fighter jets will still be able to operate out of bases closer to Damascus, but the helicopter armada that has terrorized the north will now be greatly restricted in its ability to attack. The Assad forces will also have to face all the fighters who have been battling to take Tuftanaz as they shift their attention to the few remaining Assad bases further south.
While it sounds great that the butcher Assad is losing ground, one needs to consider also this. One of the biggest components of the attackers who overran Tuftanaz came from al Nusra. For those of you who do not recognize that name, al Nusra is the Syrian affiliate of al Qaeda. The battle has morphed into one with a major mass murderer on one side and a major Islamist terror group on the other. The best result for the world would be for both sides to lose.
Of course, there was no need for things to get to this in Syria. It is only the total failure of the feckless foreign policy of the USA under Obama that has gotten us here. Maybe Obama should appoint the vice president to head a Syrian task force.
The fall of Tuftanaz is a mortal blow to Assad. It means that essentially all of northern Syria is now in rebel hands. It ends much of the ability of the Assad regime to project power into the area. Fighter jets will still be able to operate out of bases closer to Damascus, but the helicopter armada that has terrorized the north will now be greatly restricted in its ability to attack. The Assad forces will also have to face all the fighters who have been battling to take Tuftanaz as they shift their attention to the few remaining Assad bases further south.
While it sounds great that the butcher Assad is losing ground, one needs to consider also this. One of the biggest components of the attackers who overran Tuftanaz came from al Nusra. For those of you who do not recognize that name, al Nusra is the Syrian affiliate of al Qaeda. The battle has morphed into one with a major mass murderer on one side and a major Islamist terror group on the other. The best result for the world would be for both sides to lose.
Of course, there was no need for things to get to this in Syria. It is only the total failure of the feckless foreign policy of the USA under Obama that has gotten us here. Maybe Obama should appoint the vice president to head a Syrian task force.
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