Kamal Alam — Why Assad's Army Has Not Defected

The title should be, Why the liberal West should be supporting the pluralistic and inclusive Assad government rather than an Islamist opposition that is opposed to pluralism, let alone liberalism.

Oh right. It's about the pipeline.

The National Interest
Why Assad's Army Has Not Defected

Kamal Alam | Fellow at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) in London and a Syrian Military Analyst advising several Damascus-based family offices

Ren TV — The Syrian opposition unexpectedly sided with Russia against the US

A representative of the opposition has exposed the lies of Western media about Russian air strikes in Syria.

The Syrian opposition has suddenly issued a statement, denouncing the Western media lie about Russia's air strikes in Syria. Its representative Qadri Jamil said that Russia does not bomb the "moderate opposition", as reported by the American and European media, according to Sputnik.

"It is illogical to say that the Russians are bombing the opposition. They are bombing the radical opposition "Jabhat An-Nusra", which some European media called "the Syrian opposition". But it cannot be called "moderate opposition", they are the radical Islamists who should be the object of the bombing", - he said.

Moreover, Jamil said that the forces of the "Free Syrian army" should give Russia their positions so as not to become targets of Russian air strikes.

Also the representative of the Syrian opposition made another sensational statement. The "Free Syrian army" announced that it is not a terrorist organisation and is ready to join the fight against the militants of the "Islamic state" with government forces.

Also the "Free Syrian army" has declared its readiness to cooperate with Moscow.

Big deal if it pans out. Seems to contain the seed for a settlement after the Islamic militants are dispatched.

Fort Russ
The Syrian opposition unexpectedly sided with Russia against the US
Ren TV
Translated by Kristina Rus