In Syria A City Had To Be Destroyed To Save It

'Everything Is Broken:' Syrian Army Retakes Damascus Suburb At Heavy Cost -- CNN

Sbeineh, Syria (CNN) -- Sbeineh was once a thriving town on the southern outskirts of Damascus. Residents of the Syrian capital came to buy their furniture here and many factories, now abandoned, still line the main street into town.

But the grinding, two-and-a-half-year war here has reduced Sbeineh to rubble. Its residents first fled when the town fell into the hands of rebels battling to bring an end to the reign of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. But in early November the Syrian army reclaimed Sbeineh after a long and costly siege.

The military pounded rebel positions with tanks, artillery and heavy machine guns for weeks in the lead-up to the siege. Assad's men then raided the town, taking it back house by house. Various opposition groups that had occupied Sbeineh blamed each other for losing the battle, saying some rebel fighters had put up very little resistance against government troops.

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My Comment: Utter and complete destruction describes what happened in this Damascus suburb. This is a "hollow victor".