"....the rebels are losing support, in part because the regime has had
some success in stirring sectarian fears. Many Syrians originally
sympathetic to the rebels have been horrified by events such as the
reported execution on June 9th of a 14-year-old boy by jihadists in
Aleppo, allegedly for insulting the Prophet Muhammad. Downtrodden Sunnis
who six months ago were the mainstay of the opposition may be thinking
again. “I hate the regime,” says a woman from a poor Damascus suburb.
“But if forced to choose, perhaps I would rather live under them than
the rebels. I am tired of the violence.”
Qatari and Saudi support for the opposition has also scared a lot of
Syrians. “This is now a war in Syria, but not a Syrian war,” says a
dissident artist in the capital. “I have no illusions that the Gulf
backers are interested in us having democracy.” Unlike the opposition
abroad, many in Damascus were pinning their hopes, however unrealistic,
on the Geneva conference as a way to persuade the regime to share power
and thus bring the war to a close."
Saturday, June 15, 2013
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The peace talks will fail because the Americans refuse to sit down with Iran. The same thing happened last time. It’s their entire fault, that’s what Kofi Annan said.
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