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Source: http://www.economist.com/node/21560919
Did Syria's Rebels Overreach?
(Economist-UK) A month after rebel forces launched a blazing attempt to capture Aleppo, they are starting to wilt. Many Syrians conclude that the rebels overreached by taking the fight to Aleppo. "Rebel commanders had a sensible strategy of fighting a war of attrition that matched their capabilities. They were going after roads, military outposts and consolidating control of the rural areas where the regime has retreated," says Emile Hokayem, an analyst at the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies. "Then suddenly they diverted to a plan to 'liberate' a city which they knew they couldn't do." Part of the problem is that the rebels are failing to win hearts and minds among the urban middle class in Aleppo. The same was true of the failed attempt to take the capital, Damascus, in July.