With ISIS in U.S. Cross Hairs, Syria Pounces on Other Foes
In Talbiseh and across Syria, insurgent fighters who oppose both the government of President Bashar al-Assad and the foreign-led militants of the extremist group called the Islamic State are being pummeled by a new wave of attacks and assassination attempts. The assaults are coming at a crucial moment, as President Obama tries to ramp up efforts to defeat the Islamic State extremists.
Non-ISIS insurgents of all stripes say the Syrian government appears to be stepping up its attacks on them ahead of the threatened American air campaign. Both pro-government and antigovernment analysts say Mr. Assad has an interest in eliminating the more moderate rebels, to make sure his forces are the only ones left to benefit on the ground from any weakening of the Islamic State, also known as ISIS.
Mr. Assad has maintained from the start of the conflict that he and his allies are the only force in Syria capable of battling the extremists effectively. But Islamic State activists in Homs said on Wednesday that there had been no recent government airstrikes against the group, adding to opposition suspicions that Mr. Assad prefers to focus on attacking his other opponents while letting the Islamic State’s unchecked brutality argue the case to Syria and the world that his rule is the best alternative.
The brigade in Talbiseh has refused to join with more extreme groups like the Islamic State or the Nusra Front, the Syrian affiliate of Al Qaeda, Mr. Abu Nouh said. He said the brigade raised money mainly from Syrian émigrés in Gulf states who have local relatives. With ISIS in U.S. Cross Hairs, Syria Pounces on Other FoesIts history illustrates why Syrian insurgents have never gelled into a unified fighting force able to coordinate efforts across the country.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/18/world/middleeast/assad-forces-attack-moderate-insurgents.html
Some things never change. No one ever said that Mr. Assad was not a very smart man.
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