We Are All To Blame For Syria

Written by Nanice

The Arab League. The damned Arab League. Where oh where are you? And Jordan and Turkey and Saudi and Qatar and everyone else in the region that should step up. That should have stepped up. Where are you? Why are you waiting for the United States to handle Arab affairs? (In all fairness Jordan and Turkey are bursting at the seams with the refugee crisis.) So why didn't the United States or the European Union get involved earlier as opposed to now? Way before well over 100,000 people have died and now over 3-4 million people are in dire need of humanitarian aid? 

Obama and Cameron condemned atrocities, but sat on their hands and waited. The Arab League condemned atrocities as well, but just sat on their hands. Nowhere to be found. As usual. As always. I can't be disappointed because I am always disappointed. Now chemical weapons have been used so now "we care." The world "cares." The EU "cares." Saudi "cares." France "cares." Israel "cares." The United States "cares." Obama "cares." And so on.

The day Bashar Al- Assad started killing children is when the world, The EU, the Arab League, the US, Obama, Cameron, etc., etc., should have "really cared." They didn't then. They don't now. 

Obama wants to save face and make Americans think he's doing the right thing by going to Congress. What happens if they say no? No to intervention? Will he over ride them anyway? What is his motive NOW vs. 2 years ago? And why does the US get tell the other Arab countries what to do? 

I'm not for US involvement, but I'll be damned if it happens in my name and makes the situation worse. I won't blame the US or EU fully. I will blame the Arab League, KSA, Qatar, Jordan, Turkey, Russia, China and Iran. I will blame everyone but not the US wholly. Why? Because the US does nothing that doesn't protect or benefit Israel. You know this. You should know this. If you don't, you know now.

And all you "Hands off Syria" people, what is your solution? "Hands off!" "Hands off!" Then what? What happens next? No plan huh? No. No plan. Just keep hands off Syria so things stay the same. All I can say now is, SORRY. Sorry children of Syria because all we can say is "Hands Off Syria!" And we can say we need intervention now, and those are short term, easy out solutions that make us feel better. But we do not project. We cannot think. We have nothing else in place for your future. We have no long term solution for you. So you will continue to die and for that I'm so very sorry.

And all you who urge me to call Congress to vote yes or no on strikes? I've been calling Congress. I've called them to ask what their plan is either way. I've called Congress to ask them what their long term goals are for Syria should they vote yes. I've called Congress to ask them what they will do if Assad is weakened and opposition takes over? What Congress will do if Assad strikes back? Or what they will do if he lashes out even harsher on his own people. I've called Congress to ask what if there are more civilian casualties? I've called Congress to say, if you decide not to strike what are your plans now because we've dug our heels in too deep?! What is the next step? What are the next 10 steps? Surely they have a plan? Surely they've thought this out! Surely we all have, haven't we?

I can't be mad and place all blame on countries who I expect to act. I can't be mad at them at all. Not entirely. Countries are run by people, who although have power, they are people just like you and me. They might have the best of intentions, they might have the worst of intentions, but either way there has been no overwhelming flood of public pressure on a world-wide scale to these people in power until now. 

Why? 

Because chemical weapons have been used and now the threat of foreign intervention is real. Very real. So real it now has an affect on us? Now we, you and me, those of us who call ourselves "activists", those who wanted to help but didn't know how, all of us, we, you and me, are frantically trying to help Syrians and ourselves (let's not joke) by either pressuring these powers to intervene or to keep their hands off. Where were we, you and me, and activists and global citizens; those who wanted to help but didn't know how or when? Where were we when the Houla massacre took place? Where were we when it happened in Daraa? When it happened in Hama? In Aleppo? When the refugees reached into the tens of thousands? Then hundreds of thousands? When it reached 1 million? When there was a mass exodus of refugees to Iraq? Iraq for crying out loud! Where were we? We, and you and me, we are to blame. All of us. All of us are to blame because we waited too long. We waited for it to come to this. I am to blame because I sat in the comfort of my own home listening to the screams and cries of Syrians. Men and women and elders and children, all begging for help. I sat in the comfort of my own home while children were butchered, mothers & daughters were raped, while their fathers and husbands were being tortured. I am to blame while I stayed up all night looking through the awful videos and decided to wait.

More Mass Executions

Less Hope For An End To The War
(part of The Darkness Visible series)

(Bodies Dragged Out Of Kuwait River In Aleppo)

Syria was the original source for The Darkness Visible series. The horrific massacres that marked the outbreak of "civil war" in Syria inspired a seemingly endless focus on the tragedy. At times I have been unable to think of anything else but Syria and how easily it could be ended. Knowing what was happening due to Assad's insanity was making me question my own. Today Syria calls out to the world once more.

When Houla broke last May the world couldn't help but stare with their mouths hung open. Among the 108 dead were 49 children and babies. Many of the children had had their throats slit and or shot at point-blank range. This was the worse atrocity in the civil war up to that point. 

The UN has finally accepted the fact that the Shabiha (an Alawite death squad) had been the murderers in Houla. This was a claim that human rights organizations had backed from the start. It was obvious that Assad was paying this minority sect of Islam, Assad's own sect, to commit bouts of ethnic cleansing across Syria. The Houla massacre was just one of the many atrocities that became the hallmarks of Assad's genocidal campaign. 

This latest massacre is just one more grotesque display of Assad's dedication to the destruction of Syria. It is obvious by the trademarks of this massacre that the Shabiha were most likely responsible for the slaughter. Key points, such as hands being bound and signs of torture, point to the brutal mob and the support of the Syrian army. 

"With every day, with every week, with every month, the chances of him surviving are becoming less and less," Russian Prime Minister Dimitri Medvedev.

As for the Russians and Chinese, their support for Syrian president Bashar Assad remains in tact. Instead of focusing on the innocent civilians the Russians continue to focus on their desire to keep Assad in power. This dedication is born out of a desire to keep rather lucrative arms sales up and running and their control of the region alongside Iran. For the Chinese their allegiance is born out of both arms sales and the promise of cheap oil and the backing of their exploitation of Africa. 

(Civilians Shot Execution Style And Dumped In The River)

"... the tragedy does not have an end." Lakhdar Brahimi while speaking to the UN.

Around 70 young men were pulled from the Kuwait River near Aleppo. The people in the area who had missing relatives came to identify the dead as best as they could. However with the victims having been bound and shot in the head or face, identification was difficult. The fact that all of the victims were male was impossible to miss. And the fact that the youngest victim was 12 years of age was even more difficult to overlook. 

This was a war crime at best. And given that the victims will most likely all be Sunni and not Shia (or Alawite) this is possibly a case of genocide. After all, Assad's goal and the goal of his family since they took power has been to sustain control over the majority of Syria's Sunni Muslims. This goal has required countless infringements upon even the most basic of human rights in the past. It now requires that Assad kill any and all those who oppose his heartless rule. 

The question that arises from this struggle between the two basic sects of Islam is that of whether the outside world can label this as genocide. Is it possible for two competing views of the same faith to engage in genocide against one another? Or will we now need to rewrite the definition of genocide to better fit the internal struggle Islam faces today and has faced for hundreds of years? 

It is the humble opinion of Alder's Ledge that genocide occurs when any group (especially a modern state) engages in acts that are meant to destroy or diminish a given targeted community. The targeted community is most often defined by a given faith, ethnicity, creed, or distinguishable social class such as those given in the caste system of India. The term genocide thus becomes imperative when the attacks are shown to be targeted at either driving the targeted community out of an area, decrease their presence in the area, or ultimately annihilate the community all together.

Assad's actions show that he is operating off a "burnt earth" policy. Reprisals committed against the civilian population, though common in war, in the case of Assad are blatantly targeted at his religious competitors. More importantly there remains the fact that Assad has gone out of his way to raise his own religious group up in social standings while deliberately crushing outsiders and targeting those from directly opposing religious groups. 

For these reasons Alder's Ledge believes that this latest massacre is just one more display of a brutal genocide being carried out by a dictator we have often referred to as the "Nero of Damascus". And as we have stated time and time again it is the duty of the civilized world to step in and put an end to this crisis immediately. We can not wait till the tragedy plays itself out while we talk about polite policy as it relates to "national sovereignty". The wanton murder of one's own citizens must not be treated any differently than it would be if Assad's actions crossed the border over into Turkey or Israel. It is time that Assad be stopped and the cease fire be enforced with more than blue hat smurfs that run away the moment they are shot at. 

How many more need to die?

Source Documents Used  (note not all sources are listed) 

The Australian

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/civilians-shot-in-aleppo-massacre/story-fnb1brze-1226565396059

The Guardian

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jan/29/syrian-rebels-bodies-aleppo-canal

The Telegraph 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/9838299/Aleppo-massacre-as-more-bodies-are-lifted-from-the-river-families-bury-their-dead.html

The Independent 

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/bodies-of-at-least-65-young-men-are-pulled-from-river-in-syria-following-mass-execution-8471362.html

France 24

http://www.france24.com/en/20130129-syrias-aleppo-horrific-new-massacre

French Government Website

http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/en/country-files/syria-295/events-5888/article/syria-massacre-in-aleppo-30-01-13

Al Jazeera English (video)

And The Flames Go Higher

Falling Further Faster
(Part of The Darkness Visible post)

Since about midday Wednesday the Syrian military has been shelling the city of Aleppo with greater ferocity than has been seen since the standoff began. Jets have been dropping bombs nonstop for nearly a day now as their target range from Aleppo to towns north of the city. Artillery's deafening roar has not stopped since Assad ordered his hellish assault. And the tactics being reported are nothing short of barbaric.

Carving a crescent shape behind the civilian neighborhoods the bombings are being used to pin the innocent in while the army attacks head on. Helicopters are being used to patrol any routes of escape while the shabiha roam the rebel flanks. Every living soul in Aleppo seems to be the target.

What information is coming out of Aleppo lends itself to a massacre larger than any seen as of yet in this 17 month rebellion. The use of jets to bomb from the air has made it harder for innocent civilians to escape the barrage of artillery and tank fire. Machine gun fire erupts on the streets leading north out of Aleppo whenever people are seen trying to flee. It appears that Assad will hold to his promise to burn Aleppo to the ground. And he may be making sure that nobody will get out alive.

Of the original 3 million citizens there is an estimated 2.5 million still trapped in the city and its outlying neighborhoods. Most have been without running water or electricity since Assad's siege of the city began. All have been having a hard time trying to find food. And nearly everyone has been under the regime guns for the last 24 hours.

News agencies are reporting that Assad's forces have taken at least one of the key neighborhoods and are pushing toward the north side of the city. We are also hearing that Assad's regime is threatening to use "unconventional" weapons to win the fight in Aleppo. These weapons could include chemical and biological weapons of mass destruction. On the lighter side of the spectrum Assad could also be referring to napalm or high explosives to level larger areas of the city. In any case the dense population in the neighborhoods of Aleppo would spike the death toll sky high if Assad gets even more desperate.

In previous weeks Assad has threatened to use chemical and biological weapons on foreign troops if any nation or the UN tries to intervene. It appears now that the ever more desperate situation of the regime is pushing the use of these weapons closer to reality. Yet the West continues to only worry about the use of these weapons on their troops and against their interest. Apparently the helpless citizens trapped in Aleppo are not a Western interest.

On the rebel side of the battle news has come forward that the Syrian rebels have killed a Russian general who was working with the Syrian army in Damascus. The Syrian rebels produced his military id and several other sources of identification in addition to video of his body. In response the Russians have produced a man on video in Moscow who claims to be the dead general. The flaw in the Russian video is the fact the man in the video was told from a man behind the camera what to say... including his own name... and stumbled through the scripted video. In addition to not knowing who he was supposed to be, the Russian puppet also didn't look anything like the dead general in Syria.

So as I have suspected all along, Russia is doing more than just providing Assad the weapons, helicopters, tanks, and ammunition to kill his own people with. Putin's interest in keeping Syria oppressed has brought Russian military leaders to the battle field where they are reported to be directing the Syrian offenses. And yet despite an invested interest in the battle for Syria, Russia continues to be allowed to vote on the issue in the UN.

For now we still are forced to wait to see what is really happening in Aleppo as the rebels fight on against ever growing odds. So for now we will pray for the safety of those innocent civilians now trapped in the crossfire. May G-d have mercy on them seeing as how Assad will not.

A View of Shabiha Slaughter

-
First Hand Account
(Part of The Darkness Visible post)

Bound with zip-ties like so many others who came before him, Mahmoud was taken from his cell with ten other men. None could be directly linked to the rebel movement. None had any crimes for which a death sentence was usually applied... that is until now.

Assad's feared shabiha have been using the technique Mahmoud suffered. Blindfolded, Mahmoud was taken with his comrades in a truck to a contested neighborhood of Aleppo. It was there that the shabiha unloaded the men and lined their prisoners up against a wall. Put on his knees Mahmoud could hear his captors cock their weapons. And for a moment the shabiha's victims there is silence.

Then all hell erupts.

Mahmoud felt the shabihas' bullets rip into his feet and legs as the bullets climbed up his body. When Mahmoud felt a bullet hit his head he told the AP that he thought right there that he was dead. But by a miracle the bullet did not kill him.

When the shabiha left they thought they had sent a message to the rebels. It had been their goal to use this tactic to demoralize the rebel forces ahead of the planned "massive assault" on Aleppo. Mahmoud's would be killers didn't realize that they had left a witness.

Now the world knows that Assad's forces are using war crimes to try and break the rebels' fighting spirit. Now we know that Assad's forces are killing prisoners of war. Yet it seems only the rebels are learning from this new revelation.

Western media seems reluctant to post stories like this one. Some post it with the safety words like "not independently verified" to cover their butts. Others try to speculate while the facts lay right out there in the open. But most just simply hide the stories from Syria behind everything else from the Olympics to Obama.

For Mahmoud the story of Syria's conflict are far to real. The tales of war crimes are now permanently engraved in his flesh. The abuses of Assad will forever be with him whenever he looks in a mirror. And for his family... the horror of Assad's wrath is still a reality as the shabiha continue to threaten their lives.

It is time for us here on the opposite side of the world to act. We need to speak up and tell our representatives in Washington that we don't want people like Mahmoud to die at the hands of Assad's thugs. We need to put pressure on Obama's White House to do more than just use tough talk when dealing with Assad, Russia, China, and Iran. We don't need a boot licking president bowing down to Putin and Assad. We need a president that speaks softly but carries a big stick. We want action when it comes to Syria... the Syrians need action from the West right now.

The War On Childhood

-
Used as Shields and Tortured to Death

The war in Syria has had many casualties. The world has watched as all signs of humanity in Syria have been wiped out. We have seen as Syria has deteriorated into a hellish reality we dare not look upon for any length of time. And perhaps that is why we have been able to miss seeing just how much this battle has cost the most vulnerable of Syria's population. The children.

In Homs and Houla we witnessed countless children being laid to rest. They had been beaten and slaughtered at the hands of the shabiha. Many had had their hands bound by zip-ties and then executed like war criminals. Everyone who was honest enough with themselves knew what had happened. We were the few who looked at the images and read the stories. Yet most of the world looked away.

Now we know that the Syrian army has gone beyond simply abducting children and killing them. They have done more than just rounding up children and massacring them. We now know that Assad's military has been using children as human shields. The soldiers have been forcing children to set on their armor and tanks while the army creeps into contested neighborhoods. The goal is to prevent rebel soldiers from using their dreaded RPGs to disable or destroy the Syrian armor.

In Aleppo we can not tell yet if the Syrian military has used this tactic. But it is not beyond belief seeing as how the streets are narrow and the tanks are unable to engage their targets easily with buildings surrounding them. This urban conflict has left the Syrian tanks exposed to rebels and their mobile weaponry. Thus we are almost certain to see more children being used as shields.

Syrian infantry has been known to force children out ahead of them so that the rebels line of fire is blocked temporarily. The Syrian soldiers on the other hand have no fear of shooting through the children to gain the upper hand. To Assad's troops the children are "expendable".

We all know that this a crime against all humanity. We know that the intentional killing of children is a war crime we can not and should not overlook. So why is the world trying to discuss this sin as though it didn't happen? Why are we asking nicely, timidly, that Russia stop supplying Assad with the ammunition and weapons to kill his own citizens? And why are we not expressing outrage over the killing of children no matter where it is happening?

I don't have the answers for this. I can't even start to assume the answers for these questions. They just haunt me day and night. Every time I find myself with some free time... Syria's children are on my mind. The faces of those who have perished are stained upon the backs of my eyelids. And till this senseless slaughter ends... my goal is to engrave their faces upon the eyes of all those who pass through Alder's Ledge.

And that is where we leave things tonight. We are still waiting to see what Assad has in mind for Aleppo. His troops have been tied up trying to stop the guerrilla combat in Damascus. But we know for certain that soon he will be forced to launch his promised "all out assault" on the rebel forces in Aleppo. And when that time comes we will have to see just how many of the 2.5 million innocent civilians will be killed in the fighting.

As for now we wait, we watch, and for the love of G-d... please pray for Syria and the children currently in harm's way.









Sources Used (note that not all sources used are listed)

CNN
http://articles.cnn.com/2012-06-12/middleeast/world_meast_syria-unrest_1_civil-war-human-shields-syrian-regime?_s=PM:MIDDLEEAST

Turkish Weekly
http://www.turkishweekly.net/news/139602/syrian-children-used-as-human-shields-says-un-report.html

The Telegraph
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/9325965/Syrian-army-using-children-as-human-shields.html

The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/13/world/middleeast/violence-in-syria-continues-as-protesters-killed.html?pagewanted=all

BBC News
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-18405800

France24
http://www.france24.com/en/20120804-france-push-humanitarian-aid-syria-un
http://www.france24.com/en/20120612-syria-government-forces-torture-execute-use-children-uman-shields-un-report-says

The Guardian
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/middle-east-live/2012/jun/12/syria-bashar-al-assad

UN News Centre
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=42200

http://childrenandarmedconflict.un.org/

Gulf News
http://gulfnews.com/opinions/columnists/will-animal-lovers-shed-a-tear-for-syrian-children-1.1056929

Another Massacre... Another Day in Syria

-
Shabiha Go Door To Door In Damascus
(Part of The Darkness Visible post)

In a town on the outskirts of Damascus, Jdeidet Artouz, the Shabiha have committed yet another massacre. Nobody knows if this is in response for the rebels' killing of four police officers yesterday. But what is clear is that the "ghost" went door to door to round up what they called "terrorist". And as a result somewhere between 30 and 60 innocent civilians were butchered so that Assad's regime could satisfy its need for fresh blood.

In addition to the tension in the capitol of Syria another massacre was carried out in a neighboring suburb of the city, Yalda. In this slaughter the Shabiha again were seen going door to door looking for their "terrorist". And again the innocent civilians who happened to still be in their homes hiding were rounded up and taken away. Lined up in front of brick walls the 20 to 30 men, women, and children were shot and left to rot in the summer sun.

All the while the nearly hundred dead bodies in these too attacks are supposed to be ignored because some human rights groups were "appalled" by the four dead police officers the rebels produced. Nobody seems to be able to realize that the four police officers were armed and fighting back before they were captured. Nobody seems willing to admit that the four officers were used by the Assad regime to oppress the people of Aleppo. But we can't deny that the civilians butchered at the hands at the Shabiha were unarmed and no threat to Assad's tyrannical rule.

Not to argue that the crimes of the rebels is justified by the deaths of the innocent. But how can we compare the beating, tormenting, and killing of four police officers (most likely loyal to their government since they were still armed and fighting when captured) to the savage massacres of innocent civilians?

The answer is that we can't.

As the fighting in Aleppo heats up we are almost guaranteed that we will be seeing more massacres and more humanitarian crises coming out of Syria. The fact that food and water are becoming scarce in the embattled city isn't helping the civilians trapped inside to stay out of the crossfire. Taxi service is actually still up and running in Aleppo as the cabs charge around five times the usual fare. Citizens scramble across streets and flee inside as bullets zip down the streets. Children search for food as jets dive bomb their neighborhoods. And all this happens as the death toll ticks upward despite the fact nobody is counting it.

Now we will have to wait to see what happens next. While it hurts to hear of another massacre... let alone two... we are waiting to see what happens in Aleppo. All the hallmarks of a humanitarian tragedy are there. All the parts for a massacre are lining up. So let us pray that what appears to be just over the horizon does not come. Pray for Syria.

An Eye For An Eye

-
House to House Fighting in Aleppo

What would you do if you were told that somebody you knew had attacked and maybe even killed your family and friends? How would you feel if the person was free to do this sort of thing over and over again? And if you had the opportunity to kill this person would you?

For the Free Syrian Army this seems to have been the case when they captured a police station in Aleppo today. The rebel fighters were led to believe that the police they had taken prisoner as a result were shabiha. And that appears to be the reason these police officers were not just executed but beaten and publicly humiliated before being butchered.

Some believe that the police officers were taken to a near by school where they were gun down. The video shows the four officers being lined up and put on their knees. Then the rebels yell out "G-d is good" and commence to firing into the police. For about a 30 to 45 seconds the gunfire and screaming are all you can hear. The riddled bodies of the prisoners collapse under a hail of bullets. Then the video ends.

This is not a simple execution. This is retaliation. Reprisals for what the hated shabiha have done all across Syria. And yet nobody can confirm that these police officers were actually Assam's militia. No one can tell us for sure that these poor prisoners weren't just the target of the rebels' collective frustrations.

No matter what the case it is still wrong by our Western standards to savagely beat prisoners of war. It is blatantly wrong to execute them... let alone with a barrage of bullets that last long enough to kill the prisoners 10 times over.

Human rights groups that have had sympathy for the rebels' cause now find themselves squeamish when it comes to supporting a fight as brutal as that which Assad himself has fought. Of course it is hard to compare 4 prisoners to 20,000 plus casualties Assad's campaign has racked up. And nobody can say that this is on the same level as slaughtering innocent children to terrify their parents (Assad's favorite method of oppression). But none the less it is the first step toward a bitter end where both sides fight a war with the idea of "an eye for an eye... a tooth for a tooth".

Meanwhile Jay Carney, White House Press Secretary, has noted that Assad is absent from the fight.

"His recent remarks show him for the coward that he is," Jay Carney referencing Assad. "He hides out of sight, encouraging the heavily armed Syria military to continue slaughtering civilians in his name."

Other Western governments have been noticing the same thing as the White House this past week. The Arab League has decided to go to the UN and make an official call for Assad to step down. One can only assume that Assad's lack of courage to come out into the open has spurred this unprecedented course of action onward. After all, since a bomb attack killed four of Assad's top officials on July 18Th the cowardly leader has been missing in action. And it seems that even the Arab League's request may not bring him back out into the open.

So now the world will wait to see what comes of Aleppo.

While Assad's neighbors plead with the West to force him to step down the commercial hub of Syria burns. This decisive battle the West wants to see in Aleppo appears to be a fight that could last weeks. For the the countless number of civilians trapped in the cross fire this battle may end in a humanitarian disaster not seen since Srebrenica. And all we here on the other side of the world can do is wait, watch, and pray.

The Shallow Grave

-
For Assad or For Liberty?

Aleppo continues to be hammered as Assad's forces more heavy artillery into civilian neighborhoods all the while shelling other houses near by. What appears to be a scene from Dante's Inferno has engulfed the commercial hub of Syria. Businesses and homes alike are sacrificed to the mortars and artillery shells that rain from the sky day and night. Ramadan has no meaning for the terrified citizens who have remained trapped by ferocious fighting. And at the heart of all this sets one monster who refuses to leave.

The man who came first for the peaceful protesters in his nation's cities. The beast who then went after the innocent children of his countrymen. This is the creature that now threatens to level the city of Aleppo if only to save it from the rebels... his fellow Syrians.

On the other hand you have Hezbollah and Al-Quada trying to hijack what was supposed to be a movement for peace and democracy. The extremist who have found a new nation to plunder now threaten to make Aleppo Assad's grave. So now we must ask... for whom this grave now waits?

The resentment of Assad's excesses and the West's abandonment have fueled Syrian rebels to a fury Aleppo now bears. IEDs and RPGs now rule the roads of what was once a city. Damascus waits in line to be devoured next. Improvised weapons are being pitted against tanks and helicopters as the dogs of war claim the streets. The grave is being made ready.

Despite Assad's superior weapons one has to recall what the tyrant is up against. In Aleppo the Syrian Army can not send in tanks with the infantry escorts they require to operate effectively. IEDs (improvised explosive device) have made this impossible and sniper fire makes it suicidal. Instead Assad's tanks are being forced into narrow streets as RPGs (rocket propelled grenade) pick off the steel coffins one by one. Helicopter cover from overhead is threatened by small arms fire as they are forced to get in close to locate the guerrilla soldiers on the ground. It seems Assad's forces are being treated to the same threats United States soldiers faced in Iraq.

Syrian rebels have shown that they are willing to use suicide attacks in some cases if the reward is worth the cost in their eyes. In Damascus this was made evident when the rebels set of suicide bombs that are believed to have killed members of Assad's regime. These attacks even sent Assad into hiding for a couple days as the bombs continued to rock Damascus.

Back in the United Nations the world watches as the 2.5 million residents of Aleppo either flee or bunker down. France and other Western nations have already said that Aleppo has the potential to become the next Homs style massacre. This time around however if the regime wins the civilian death toll could be counted in the hundreds of thousands instead of just the hundreds. Innocent women and children will most likely be the number one targets of the Shabiha if Assad's regime can route the rebels.

In all wars it is expected that a small number of the dead will inevitably be noncombatants. Yet in Syria the number of innocent killed at this point outnumbers the number of combatants killed by far. To make things worse, Syria's government has targeted the nation's youth in a method of systematic slaughter not seen in modern times. This is expected only to continue if Assad can take Aleppo.

Along the border refugees escaping Assad's tyranny are harassed by border patrols. In several cases it has been verified that Syrian soldiers have shot the children of refugees while allowing the parents to escape. The motive for this is clear... the message is clear... the government of Syria wishes to demoralize and crush the spirits of anyone who opposes Assad. Fleeing the country is apparently considered treason instead of remaining loyal and waiting to die like all the rest.

I have made it clear in recent post that it is my opinion that Assad is acting like the male lion who has just taken on a new pride. He is roaming the landscape looking for the cubs of those who are now to be his oppressed slaves. And like the lion... Assad is slaughtering and devouring his nations youth. Taking from the pride any form of hope that might be left.

It is now my opinion that the children trapped in Aleppo are at more risk than they have been ever before. Not only is Assad shelling the city relentlessly but he is preparing his forces for a fight to the death. The loyal Shabiha are waiting to act as the SS did in Poland. They will come in behind the Syrian Army and "mop up" the "undesirables". Women and children will be used to make an example for all the rest. For the Shabiha they are easy targets for they cannot fight back. They will be tortured and then killed. Their bodies will be beaten even after they die to make them appear worse than just a bullet to the head. This is to be a grotesque mascaraed for the conqueror... Assad. 

Many of Aleppo's 200,000 citizens who have fled will come back only to find their homes and businesses burnt to the ground. For what remains of the 2.5 million citizens of Aleppo who did not flee... Assad's reconquista will be more like the Soviets invading Berlin than it will be a return to normality. The first hellish wave of soldiers and tanks will offer only death to those trapped in the crossfire. The Shabiha will offer a burial for those who survive.

The West grows tired of seeing images like this. They claim that the Battle for Aleppo will be a decisive victory for either side. And that the war will come to an end quickly after the fall of this city. The delusions with which the West operates however only offer more images like this one.

More children will be wounded or killed as a result of Western cowardice and ineptitude. The death toll for Syria's youth will only tick higher as Western leaders like Obama kneel down to lick Assad and Putin's boots. But more disturbing than this... all hope of democracy for the youth of Syria will die as a result of a callous world that has dared to turn its back on the most visible chapter of darkness in our history.

Nobody knows what will come of Aleppo. The darkness that has been creeping over the landscape for nearly 17 months now continues to grow. Its veil blocks the light and hides all signs of hope as it devours those it now ensnares. Once again I will... neigh, I must... ask, where will this dark night take us? When will this dark night end? And how many more must perish before the world decides to act?