Daily Alert Archives

Why Syria Is Still a War Zone

(World Affairs Journal) Michael J. Totten - The Syrian regime and the opposition are locked in a death struggle. If Assad loses, he'll be driven into exile or lynched like Gaddafi. His minority Alawite sect may suffer brutal reprisals for the crimes of his government, not only the current mass murder, but also the decades of totalitarian rule that preceded it. If the opposition loses, its supporters and fighters will be shot, forced into exile, buried in prison, or tortured to death. Syrian opposition members have an alternative plan now that the UN's is failing: arm the local resistance; establish a safe haven and provide aerial support to the local resistance; increase diplomatic pressure; and encourage defections by top officials by providing a series of conditional amnesties. The conflict might not even stop if Assad falls tomorrow. I recently had coffee with a Syrian Kurd in Tunis who said his community, which makes up 10% of the country, is no longer even thinking about Bashar al-Assad. They're all but certain he's doomed. Instead, he said, they're preparing themselves for the next stage of the war.
2012-04-19 00:00:00
Full Article