[norcal joe]

The fact that Damascus is now free of the Assad regime, without bloodshed, is very important, because it may signal that there is a path forward without bloodshed, without the country plunging into civil war.

Except that the "rebels" who have taken over most of the country are extreme-radical Islamists, and supposedly worse than ISIS. So who knows what this may bring.

[buwaya]

It would take a lot to be worse than ISIS. An early indicator was that after the fall of Mosul in 2014 Isis columns would catch up with fleeing groups of Shiite militia, often outnumbering the ISIS units. The Shiites promptly surrendered. ISIS would immediately massacre their prisoners.

It remains to be seen what these characters do, but so far there are no reports along those lines.

[dfwgator]

Considering they were pals with McCain, it doesn’t provide me with a lot of comfort.