Brutality of Syrian Rebels Posing Dilemma in West [View all]

[Sunlei]

The Syrian rebels posed casually, standing over their prisoners with firearms pointed down at the shirtless and terrified men.

The prisoners, seven in all, were captured Syrian soldiers. Five were trussed, their backs marked with red welts. They kept their faces pressed to the dirt as the rebels’ commander recited a bitter revolutionary verse. “For fifty years, they are companions to corruption,” he said. “We swear to the Lord of the Throne, that this is our oath: We will take revenge.”

The moment the poem ended, the commander, known as “the Uncle,” fired a bullet into the back of the first prisoner’s head. His gunmen followed suit, promptly killing all the men at their feet.

This scene, documented in a video smuggled out of Syria a few days ago by a former rebel who grew disgusted by the killings, offers a dark insight into how many rebels have adopted some of the same brutal and ruthless tactics as the regime they are trying to overthrow.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/05/world/middleeast/brutality-of-syrian-rebels-pose-dilemma-in-west.html?ref=world

I am against the support of either side. I hate the idea that the USA has given training and weapons to the rebels. No war.

I am all for the ban against chemical weapons and doing whatever we can to assist the world to keep chemical weapons from use. Humanitarian support of refugees. Punishing those who use/used chem. weaps, including those corps who sell chemical weapons. Punish with an International Tribunal Court.