Syrian President Bashar al-Assad reaches out to shake the hand of a Syrian army soldier in eastern Ghouta, Syria, March 18, 2018. SANA / Reuters
Sam Dagher, The Atlantic: Assad Is Desperate for Soldiers
The problem is that few want to fight for him.
TRIPOLI, Lebanon—In late March, the Assad regime released a propaganda video aimed at the young men of Syria. In the video, titled “Braids of Fire,” Asma al-Assad, the wife of Bashar al-Assad, the president of Syria, stands before a squad of female army volunteers dressed in camouflage and army boots. “You are far stronger and more courageous than many men because when the going got tough, you were on the front lines, and they were the ones running away or hiding,” she declares. Her words are intercut with images of the women volunteers in combat training, as well as testimonials from the women and their mothers. The underlying message: Shame on you men for fleeing military service—a “sacred duty” enumerated in Syria’s constitution.
When protests against the Assad regime began in 2011, the Syrian army numbered about 250,000. But tens of thousands of defections, desertions, and mass casualties over more than seven years of conflict have gutted the military. While its current size is unknown, one thing is clear: Assad is now going to great lengths to reconstitute his forces. The problem is that few Syrians want to fight for him.
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WNU Editor: This has been a problem for Assad's regime since the start of the civil war .... how to keep a cohesive army that can fight the far when many of your soldiers are deserting or fleeing the country. This is also the biggest beef that Russians who have served in Syria are now saying on social media .... "the Syrians do not want to fight for Assad". While on the opposite side .... those who are battling the regime appear to have all the motivation and willingness to sacrifice and fight. For the moment Assad is safe ....Russian forces are there, and the Iranians/Hezbollah are providing the muscle. But this cannot last forever .... and Assad continues to lose troops.
well there's not a lot of fights left outside of mopping up ISIS and a few Jihadist pockets...I guess no one wants to be the last person killed in the civil war.
ReplyDeleteSeven years of war, the Syrian Army against rebels, jihadists and now Israel and the west, probably they are very stressed and with few to enjoy.
ReplyDeleteJust a few months ago the rebellion appeared all but dead. In fact, the editor had written on this even profiling some of them.
ReplyDelete"While on the opposite side....those who are battling the regime appear to have all the motivation and willingness to sacrifice and fight. For the moment....Assad is safe....Russian forces are there, and the Iranians/Hezbollah are providing the muscle. But this cannot last forever...And Assad continues to lose troops." If this analysis by the editor is correct and my "gut" tells me that it is, unless big changes are made soon by Assad and their allies, the fight is lost for them. With that said assuming the US continues to support the "rebels" what do we "win?" We get in charge of what is left of Syria a clone of ISIS/Al Qaeda or we can Assad/Iran. Either way this does not look like a good option.
As with any battlefield, they tend to be fluid. As such, Assad and his allies may make the big changes and turn this around. It is amazing how this turned so quickly in favor of the "rebels." The only new variable in all of this is the leadership of president Trump and his team members. They probably deserve the Lion's share of the "credit" for this turnaround. I say "credit" because we still really don't even have a clear idea of just who these "rebels" really are and what we do know is not encouraging.
For better or worse the man in Donald Trump who was supposed to have collaborated with Putin on the election or to have been an agent of Putin is thus far proving to be his worst nightmare!! Putin's best hope may be that the Mueller probe finds something and saves him.
I hate when that happens.
ReplyDeleteDon't want to fight for Assad or just don't want to fight anymore?
ReplyDelete