Syria's rebels and soldiers agree: military strikes will change nothing

[cali]

For the rebels, the attack will be too little, too late; a strike so long delayed that it will destroy only empty buildings and broken warplanes.

For the government and its troops, it would be a petulant volley of Western frustration, born of the lies America has told the world about Assad's responsibility for firing chemical weapons and of its determination to overthrow him.

The soldiers I meet on the front lines are defiant. "When they send their rockets we'll shoot them out of the sky," says one grizzled fighter, raising his battered Kalashnikov rifle in the air. When I ask them what weapons they have to take down the cruise missiles likely to be fired, they assure me they have secret weapons that will do the job.

For all the bravado, soldiers and citizens of the capital are watching events with growing concern. There are reports that a military radar system has been dismantled at Damascus International Airport; that missiles, tanks and aircraft have already been hidden; that Intelligence and Defence buildings have been emptied of vital computers. The Information Ministry has a new satellite television set-up in case the State Broadcasting building is attacked.

<snip>

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/10293591/Syrias-rebels-and-soldiers-agree-military-strikes-will-change-nothing.html

[Laelth]

1. k&r for exposure. n/t

-Laelth

[CanonRay]

2. I agree with them

It is a total waste of time, money, military power, and political and moral capital, and will likely lead to unforeseen complications.

[KittyWampus]

3. at the very least, Assad has had to expend energy moving stuff around. I'd imagine we have a better

idea of where things are now.

[cali]

4. and what if more of it is even closer to civilians?

and so what if he's "had to expend energy moving stuff around"? that hardly achieves much of anything.

grasping desperately at straws again, kitty.