CrabbedOne
Walking sideways snippily
In FP It’s Time to Give Assad’s Soldiers a Ticket Out
Interesting suggestion: undermine Assad by helping young Syrian men avoid military service.
Points out there are large numbers of deserters and draft dodgers. Better off Syrian boys simply bribe their way around service or move to Beirut. It gives a couple of tragic examples of SAA service. They may dislike the regime but very few of these reluctant young men actually join rebel groups. Most Syrians seem to want little part in the fighting. Some may be cowards, some simply won't burn their country to preserve the awful Bashar those that do may see that as their only alternative. Our current policy is essentially to drain the SAA pool of conscripts by arming the rebels to kill these young men once drafted. Probably more than 100K have already perished in SAA uniform. It might be more humane (and cheaper) to offer them an easy path to refugee status and a new life elsewhere.
Interesting suggestion: undermine Assad by helping young Syrian men avoid military service.
Points out there are large numbers of deserters and draft dodgers. Better off Syrian boys simply bribe their way around service or move to Beirut. It gives a couple of tragic examples of SAA service. They may dislike the regime but very few of these reluctant young men actually join rebel groups. Most Syrians seem to want little part in the fighting. Some may be cowards, some simply won't burn their country to preserve the awful Bashar those that do may see that as their only alternative. Our current policy is essentially to drain the SAA pool of conscripts by arming the rebels to kill these young men once drafted. Probably more than 100K have already perished in SAA uniform. It might be more humane (and cheaper) to offer them an easy path to refugee status and a new life elsewhere.