Wednesday, December 14, 2016

So who are the rebels you like, specifically?

What is clear about Western media coverage and Western academic talk about Syria is the extent to which they use generalized references to "revolution" (without defining it) and to "rebels" without identifying them.  I always ask people: so who are the rebels you like? They never answer in the affirmative but in the negative, as in: I don't like ISIS.  Or I don't like Nusrah.  But who are the ones you like? I rarely get a straight answer. So do you like Ahrar Ash-Sham? Do you read their rhetoric in Arabic? Do you like Nour Ad-Din Zengi?  Who do you like? Some in the woefully ignorant West (regarding world affairs) mention the "Free Syrian Army"--or what is left of that. Do people know that one of the reasons why people were early on drawn to ISIS and Nusrah is due to the thuggery of FSA?