Posted on 05/07/2014 2:54:15 PM PDT by PaulCruz2016
BEIRUT -- Carrying their rifles and small bags of belongings, hundreds of exhausted Syrian rebels withdrew Wednesday from their last remaining strongholds in the heart of Homs, surrendering to President Bashar Assad a bloodstained city that was once the centre of the revolt against him.
For Assad, it is a powerful victory ahead of presidential elections. For the rebels, the dramatic exit after two years of enduring grueling assaults and siege captures their sense of abandonment amid world reluctance to help shift the balance of power on the ground.
"We ate grass and leaves until there was nothing left for us to eat," said opposition activist Abu Yassin al-Homsi, who was preparing to leave with the rebels later Wednesday. "We kept urging the international community to lift the siege but there was no response," he added.
The exit of some 1,200 fighters and civilians marks a de-facto end of the rebellion in the war shattered city, which was one of the first places to rise up against Assad's rule, earning its nickname as "the capital of the revolution."
(Excerpt) Read more at ctvnews.ca ...
Homs—bad luck city. Papa Assad killed something like 30,000; now the rebels run through it, and then Baby Assad recaptures it—an unhappy sequence to live through.
This is not a good thing. It is not necessarily a bad thing either. Assad is a thug. So were some of the rebels.
So how much more aid should Obama have offered, especially considering the questionable nature of some rebels and their financing by Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
Assad is the Devil You Know...Better him, than them.
Obama must be deeply saddened. Much like his rousing support of the Muslim brotherhood went astray at the hands of common citizens who had the temerity to discard his Allah sent views on Islamic life
Yep. As bad as Assad is, I don't think he dreams of eventually attacking an American city. But that's something the rebels probably discuss on a regular basis.
This is yet another example that the REAL world is never black and white. Sound bites and political opinions fit well into a binary matrix of black and white, where the good guys wear white hats and the bad guys black. However, just because folk like Assad and Qaddafi and their ilk are veritable monsters - who need to be taken out of power - does not mean that there is no need to look at the alternative. Many times the alternative can be far worse. A rat in the house is a bad thing, but substituting it with a rattlesnake will never be prudent.
Not to worry, the admin is helping all the poor brotherhood terrorists escape to sanctuary here with us. Just grand.
So they were carrying rifles when they surrendered? Huh? You’re supposed to lay down your rifle then surrender. Stupid leaf-and-grass- eating savages. Anyone who surrenders will be killed.
dfwgator is right. Assad is scum, but he’s not interested in global jihad. His enemies are our enemies. Sadly, his friends are also our enemies.
And John McCain sheds a tear.
In other words, Assad is ‘par for the course’ in the Arab world.
“Actually, that was Hama. Homs is my mother’s hometown, and has a large Christian population. “
Yes, it was Hama, and I also remember it. Assad Sr. simply leveled it. No doubt junior took notes.
But given your background, you are really good to have here. So what’s your take on all this? Given your statement, and that you’re on this site, I assume you’re Christian.
The “rebels” are far more vicious. Let’s not forget they were the ones overrunning Christian villages, then raped and beheaded small children. Granted, the Assad regime is no doubt thuggish, but the Obama-supported al-Qaeda terrorists are far, far worse. So yes... this is indeed a good thing, and those jihadi apes should be rounded up and their own heads should be set upon pikes on the road to Damascus.
“Sadly, his friends are also our enemies.”
While that’s true, he’s what passes for “moderate” in that toilet-bowl part of the world. Every other option is a worse one.
It’s worth pointing out that the Al Qaeda rebels evacuating Homs, Syria are being sent to...
...the Ukraine.
Yup, to kill Russians for 0bama.
Touche!
^^ for you ^^
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