BEIRUT (AP) — The Syrian government appeared to have fallen early Sunday in a stunning end to the 50-year rule of the Assad family after a lightning rebel offensive.
The head of a Syrian opposition war monitor said President Bashar Assad had left the country for an undisclosed location, fleeing ahead of insurgents who said they had entered Damascus after a remarkably swift advance across the country.
Syrian Prime Minister Mohammed Ghazi Jalali said the government was ready to “extend its hand” to the opposition and hand over its functions to a transitional government.
Not that Assad isn’t a massive cunt, but I do wonder what might happen next.
For reference here is a news article about a certain group taking Afghanistan in 1996, and the tone about today’s news seems oddly familiar.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/september/27/newsid_2539000/2539973.stm
The PM may call for free elections all he wants, but a group that has spent the last decade shedding blood for this moment my not see things quite the same way.
Still, the Syrian government and Hezbollah were in cahoots, so I can think of at least one Syrian neighbour that will be celebrating this. It’s one less route for weapons to end up in the West Bank.
Practical result - Israel is already hard at work annexing more Syrian territory: https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israel-moves-capture-syrian-held-golan-heights-following-assad-overthrow ofc Netaniahu swears that it’s “temporary”, I guarantee you - this is a permanent.
Not that Assad isn’t a massive cunt, but I do wonder what might happen next.
Given the track record of violent revolutions throughout history, nothing good. Still, seeing how low the “better than Assad” bar is it might be a slight improvement.
It’s one less route for weapons to end up in the West Bank.
Only true if the revolution was Israeli sponsored.
Another route would be an independent source of water and power and a trade route and free association and free movement about their own country. But sure, choose violence to end violence, because that works.
