Posted on 06/30/2015 7:15:18 PM PDT by MinorityRepublican
A senior Israeli defense official said President Bashar al-Assad controlled just a fifth of Syria and may end up in charge of a rump state dominated by his minority Alawite sect.
Israel and its neighbor Syria are long-term enemies, but the remarks by Amos Gilad, strategic adviser to Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon, reflect concerns by states across the region that Syria is undergoing a de facto partition after four years of civil war.
"Syria is gone. Syria is dying. The funeral will be declared in due time. This Bashar Assad, he will be remembered in history textbooks as the one who lost Syria," Gilad told an intelligence conference organized by the Israel Defense journal on Monday.
"Until now he has lost 75 percent of Syria ... He is, practically, governor of 20 percent of Syria. And his future, if I may predict it, is shrinking all of the time. And maybe we will have him as the president of 'Alawistan'," Gilad added.
Since March, Assad has steadily lost territory in the northwest, south and central Syria to an array of groups including Islamic State, the al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front, and rebels who profess a more moderate vision for Syria.
Many analysts believe pro-government forces are focusing their efforts on shoring up control over a western area of Syria stretching north from Damascus through Homs and Hama to the Mediterranean coast, including the heartland of the Alawites.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
The situation of Syria’s Christian community - a most ancient community with a great heritage - would break anyone’s heart.
I notice you post a lot of the drum beat stories about Assad supposedly falling apart. Are you supporting the goal of the jihadi attackers? Just curious where you stand on it since you seem to have an unusually large interest in this topic.
If you’d like to be on or off, please FR mail me.
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