What is the state of civil unrest in Syria?President Assad has been brutal in his efforts to suppress any opposition to his regime but has the Arab Spring actually taken hold in Syria? The following except from Foxnews outlines the standard fare that has been reported for months:
Syrian Security Forces Surround Central Town
Syrian security forces pursuing anti-government protesters have surrounded a central town that has become a hotbed of dissent against President Bashar Assad’s regime, sending residents fleeing, activists said Monday.
The prime minister of Turkey, a former close ally, warned Assad that his regime could face a demise like those in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya if the violent suppression of protests does not stop.
Syria has come under blistering international condemnation for its deadly crackdown on anti-government protests that began in March, and U.S. and European leaders have demanded Assad step down.
However, the excerpt from this article now includes elements of a military uprising starting to form:
Syrian forces surround town after soldiers defect
Residents in town near Homs say tanks, armored vehicles begin firing with machine guns in operation to counter dissent within military.
Since the demise of Muammar Gaddafi’s rule over Libya, activists and residents have been reporting increasing defections among the Syrian army, as well as more intense street protests against the president.
Now that Libya has been freed from the tyranny of Gaddafi by forces aligned with Al Queda, there is no doubt that the next target is Syria. The Right to Protect Syrians from their government will become the latest humanitarian effort of the United Nations and the United States. However, Syrian does have the potential to start a Middle East conflagration in association with Hamas and Iran against Israel.
If the Israeli option does not materialize, Saudi Arabia will be the next target. At some point, people have to ask a simple question: who is in charge of these new governments? The real questions are who is behind the Muslim Brotherhood and why is the Obama administration supporting it?
David DeGerolamo
