A Hot War, A Cold Peace

"There are tanks at our flank and in front of us.  There is an Assad tank pointing its barrel at us and sometimes there are snipers.  We can get inside Aleppo now, and we are supplying guns to FSA units in the city centre.  They are lying dormant, hiding, preparing and waiting for the right moment to strike."

Kofi Annan has met again with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.  To redefine the peace plan, to re-invigorate it.  President al-Assad is prepared to meet the targets of the peace plan.  He has given his solemn word to the UN envoy that he has every intention of honouring the peace plan.  Trouble is, the terrorists are defying the demands of the UN, Arab League and NATO.

It is not his fault that the rebels with their Islamist and terrorist and al-Qaeda supporters will not agree to honour the peace plan.  The Syrian tyrant is simply doing what any ruler must do when faced with an insurgency; devote himself to the protection of his country and his people.  And in so doing he evokes the wrath of the international community who have no right to tell him how he should react.

Claims that he should appear before the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity are spurious and slanderous.  If there was anything wrong with the current regime, would it be likely that Syria is soon to be welcomed as a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council?  It has the support of other members, like Cuba, China, Venezuela and Russia.

The rebels of the Free Syrian Army are seeing their numbers swell with the ongoing defections from the Syrian military.  They are also finally coming together to coordinate their efforts, to make themselves far more effective in defying and challenging the regime's forces.  In the towns nearby Aleppo, residents have fled, and the fighters wait.

They are bombarded with mortars and artillery.  They watch the enemy positions.  And they launch their own attacks on checkpoints and Syrian army military bases.  The regime's security forces are desperate to maintain control of Aleppo, and the rebels are prepared to do whatever it takes to eventually gain control and the city falls to them.

Free Syrian Army units are now, finally, forming a common front.  The militias move from town to town.  "We have been promised money, weapons and telecommunications by FSA military commanders in Turkey", explained one commander from a region bordering another territory where increased coordination is bringing fighters together enabling them to successfully attack army operations.

Their weapons are still limited to Kalashnikovs and rocket-propelled grenades, but growing numbers of defectors from the military ranks make up the difference.  "Almost every attack we make, we already know that many soldiers in the target will defect", said one commander, with the assurance of experience.  Those defections will be the key to their eventual success.

Even ethnic Kurdish fighters, traditionally given shelter by the regime, are now willing to discuss a common strategy.  "The PKK has decided to form a union with the FSA.  They will not help us fight Assad, but there is a cold peace."