Akram, Angry Arab correspondent in Syria, sent me this:
"In a previous post, I tried to provide my own explanation of the the destructive tactics embraced by the Syrian regime and its armed opposition in the urban war that is taking place in Syria. Here is a text that reveals a lot about the way of thinking of one of the (both?) conflict parties:
I have two short comments on this:
"In a previous post, I tried to provide my own explanation of the the destructive tactics embraced by the Syrian regime and its armed opposition in the urban war that is taking place in Syria. Here is a text that reveals a lot about the way of thinking of one of the (both?) conflict parties:
We are saying that we will only be here as
long as it takes to get the job done, to get rid of the Assads. After that, we
will leave and they can build the city [Aleppo] that they want, said
Sheikh Tawfik Abu Sleiman, a rebel commander.
I have two short comments on this:
- Its clear that the rebels are emotionally separated from the city and its residents. They don't belong to the place that they pretend to protect. For them, the city is not more than a bunch of concrete blocks that can be easily reconstructed after "the job got done". The mass death and displacement of the innocent people is just a collateral damage that must be paid (not by them) for the sake of the Greater Cause. This logic pertains to an occupying power, rather that to a liberating resistance.
- It's not unfair to put the same sentence in the mouth of the Syrian regime. Just replace the word "Assads" with the word "terrorists"."
