Assad announced the news to a jubilant population on SANA television before leaving for Aleppo to give his personal congratulations to his victorious troops. Reports state that both Aleppo residents and returning refugees are pouring into the streets in wild celebration and the city's mosques and churches are filled to capacity with grateful citizens.
The Battle of Aleppo was truly an international effort. Besides the Syrians, military forces from Iraq, Russia, China, Iran, Lebanon, Afghanistan, and Egypt all participated in the liberation. Russia, Iran, and the United Nations all coordinated one of the greatest humanitarian relief efforts in history against the backdrop of the Battle---in which several volunteers sacrificed their own lives.
Al-Qaeda reportedly surrender after their top commander was killed. Whether this happened because of the Allied advance or at the hands of his own mutinous troops is not yet known. Al-Qaeda and its affiliated groups lost an estimated 40,000 of their worldwide forces in Aleppo. While there are a few Al-Qaeda bands still at large in the rural districts of Western Syria, the Al-Qaeda scourge is effectively wiped out as a major threat in Syria.
The victory also foiled the various schemes of Western politicians and international criminals who have been using Al-Qaeda as a proxy for their activities.
The job though is far from over. Rebuilding the devastated city and repatriating scores of thousands of refugees will require another international effort. And ISIS---which began a feint against Palmyra this week, still holds Raqqa and Mosul and is still deeply entrenched in Deir Ezzur.
But for Aleppo, a city of over 2 million people, Christmas 2016 brought the greatest gift of all---the gift of freedom.
Are you serious?
ReplyDeleteWhen Nazi Germany invaded the USSR, the Nazis took on one of the greatest threats to human civilization. When the USSR fought back, that communist nation took on one of the greatest threats to human civilization. Did the leaders of either of those nations deserve much praise?
DeletePerhaps it would be worthwhile if you clarified what you are praising. When the German Nazis and the Russian Communists started fighting each other, that was good thing for everyone else. If those two great totalitarian states had focused their energies on easier targets.......
I don't think that the analogy is equal. Al-Qaeda and ISIS have been supported by the allegedly Christian West; while Russia, China, Syria, and their allies are fighting for the values that we should be upholding.
DeleteTrue, none of those countries are free markets and are very weak on certain political freedoms, but let's look at some examples:
About a year ago, Hezbollah on its own initiative, attacked and destroyed a major Al-Qaeda base. One of the surrender terms was that the Terrorists had to free hundreds of Christian hostages and forcing them to remove all the booby-traps from churches. Yet our government was knowingly arming Al-Qaeda and calling Hezbollah a terror group.
President Assad has met on several occasions with Christian leaders and praised Syrian Christians during the war. The Syrian government has already allocated funds to rebuild Christian schools and churches. Meanwhile, the US tries to defund Christian organizations and sues Christian businesses.
The Russian Orthodox Church, in conjunction with the Russian Government, organized humanitarian aid to Syria---since including the Red Crescent and the United Nations. Several Russians have been killed in this effort. The 'Christian' West meanwhile embargoed Syria while supplying the Terrorists.
Russia has forced ISIS to release Christian hostages on numerous occasions. Meanwhile, John Kerry denied Syrian Christians refugee status so more of them could be ethnically cleansed.
Western Cultural Marxism is just as bad as the Jihad in many ways. If Obama had succeeded in removing Assad, Syria would have been flooded with people like the Clinton Foundation creating social policy and people like Soros running its media and economy. Assad may not be ideal, but he's much better than that would have been.
What Obama thinks he is doing I can only guess. Obama's policies in the Middle East have done nothing except sow chaos. Nevertheless, praising the likes of Putin or Assad is silly.
ReplyDeleteWhat successful dictators do is put their subject in a strange position. The dictator wants everyone to depend upon him for their safety. The dictator may even want his subjects to hate and fear him, but he also want his subjects to depend upon him for their safety. Thus, it is has not been uncommon for Christians in the Middle East to depend upon a secular strong man for their safety. However, that sort of safety is fleeting. When Saddam Hussein died in Iraq, the Christians lost their protector.
I believe Hussein and Assad were part of the same party.