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Face to Face with a Revolution
(Washington Post) David Ignatius - I spent two days last week traveling inside Syria with the Free Syrian Army. As I traveled many hours across back roads, it was clear that the rural north belongs to the Free Syrian Army. Their checkpoints are everywhere except the cities and major highways, and rebel commanders can travel safely across much of the northern third of the country. Col. Abdel-Jabbar Akidi is the commander of rebel forces in the Aleppo region and perhaps the senior Free Syrian Army commander in the country. Akidi says unless the U.S. provides weapons that can tip the balance, he needs help from the jihadists who are so eager to fight and die. If the U.S. wants the rebels to coordinate better, it should lead the way by coordinating outside help. The shower of cash and weapons coming from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and other Arab nations is helping extremist fighters and undercutting any orderly chain of command through the Free Syrian Army.