Crimes of armed groups in Syria

This does not get any attention in the Western press.  Kidnappings, torture, shelling, assassinations, sniper killing, and murder of a French journalist by Syrian armed groups do not get any attention in the Western press whatsoever because the dominant narrative is that those violent groups are 1) non-violent; 2) that they resort to good violence, or as the Huffington Post called their assassination of a judge and a prosecutor "retaliation"--we now apply the same label that is reserved for Israel to justify its war crimes at all times.  Even this well-known opposition intellectual (with whom I engaged in a bitter political and polemical duel), admits that some groups resort to "random kidnapping" and "ransom" and that one of the fanatical clerics of one of the fanatical groups in the Northwest issued a fatwa to permit ransom kidnappings (very much like the Taliban in Pakistan).   He even admits that former thieves have joined the rebel ranks.  And when you hear about assassinations (which are not reported in the Western press), like the assassination of a cleric in Damascus last week or the assassination of a judge and a prosecutor yesterday.  This is from the playbook of Ikhwan in the 1970s and 1980s: and when they assassinate you know that they are back to targeting `Alawites qua `Alawites.   Enjoy your rebels just as you enjoyed your NATO rebels.