According the attached report in the 3 October issue of the New York Times, defections from Assad's army to the Free Syrian Army (FSA) have slowed to a trickle. No major units have defected. The FSA has resulted to trickery and coercion to gain recruits, including drugging and kidnapping.
Moreover, rebel tactics, like suicide bombing and murdering captured soldiers, are beginning to alienate the people.
Also, there is no evidence that rebel forces have materially weakened Assad's army. The Syrian army has changed tactics to rely more on artillery and bombing to strike from a distance and thus preserve its own forces.
All good info, but then the report concludes with at curious statement that the Syrian civil war as transformed from a struggle against a dictator into sectarian war that is being stoked by foreign meddling. This is a very superficial and, I believe, misleading conclusion. It smacks of apologia. The Syrian civil war has always been far more complex than that portrayed by the mainstream media like the NYT. Secular, Jihadi, and foreign influence have been part of this war from the git go. Almost all of the rebel forces are Sunnis, for example. The other ethnic groups have not joined the revolt. Readers interested in a more balanced and nuanced view of this incredibly complex civil war should read the report Syrian Jihadism attached here in pdf format.
By KAREEM FAHIM and HWAIDA SAAD, New York Times, 3 October 2012
