Syria

Apparently, there is a large group of defectors from the Syrian army, which are now leading the fight against the Assad Regime. So far, they have attacked a Syrian military base which had aerial intelligence facilities. In many regards this is good, because it means the Assad regime cannot use that information and intelligence to attack their own people and civilians.

As you probably know, the United Nations has already as of November 2011 counted the civilian death toll at 4000, meanwhile the Syrian government says they have lost 1100 security force members, which of course is unconfirmed. So the question might be; is this Syrian opposition hurting or helping the situation? Perhaps, it depends on which side of the fence you are on.

There was an interesting article in the Wall Street Journal on December 2, 2011 titled "Syria Would Cut Iran Military Tie, Opposition Head Says," by Jay Solomon and Nour Malas, which stated that the group would end arms supplied to militant groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah. Well, those sure sound like "magic words" to me, but are they legitimate, and if they are how can we know that?

Then again if the Assad Regime is to fall anyway due to UN, Arab League, and Turkey economic sanctions, then it would make sense to assist the opposition in Syria through the back door, with perhaps night time drone or stealth strikes to assist the opposition; perhaps soon or even right now. Yes, lots of "Ifs" there, but "IF" they'd make good on such a promise, then isn't that in the United States' best interest, and doesn't that alleviate a whole lot of problems moving forward "IF" there was a true meeting of the minds and that agreement would be honored in the future?

Still, I would submit to you that it is not necessarily a good deal for the Syrian government to fall, as it will put in jeopardy Israel, the Arab League, and even the United States and our interests in the region. If Syria falls it might be taken over by groups of extreme religious viewpoints and that can't be good for anyone in the region.

Worse, Syria has all sorts of weapon caches owned by the military, and there are something like 10 international terrorist groups which are headquartered or call Syria their home. It could be a literal nightmare and a slaughter for the citizens of Syria if things don't go right. This is very serious business, and things are changing very rapidly. Oh, by the way, Merry Christmas?