Syrian rebels attack key government airbase in offensive that will change ... - Scrape TV

November 4 2012

Damascus, Syria – Normally in wars territory and strongholds shift constantly, it's the nature of war. One said takes a checkpoint and the other takes it back, prompting the original occupier to try and take it back. In most wars that is how things progress until eventually one side controls the most spots on the board.

In a civil war things work in very much the same way. Both sides battle for positions the others hold and eventually one gains enough of an advantage to drive the other back and perhaps into defeat. In Syria that really hasn't happened at all. Both sides have pounded the other, taken out leaders and key players, and nothing has really changed on the ground at all.

The rebels, a group by definition of goal only, have scored most of those high-profile victories over the course of the war. In recent days that has actually picked up with rebel forces securing key checkpoints in Damascus and now, it appears, a chance to take a major airfield in the city of Taftanaz, something which they hope will change the balance of power in the country because, well, because they are hopeful beyond being sensible really.

Should rebels manage to take and hold the airfield it's believed that government forces will just use their other airfields to launch fighters and blow it to pieces like they have done to the rest of the country.

Rebel fighters of course have no aircraft so all the capturing of the airfield will do is prevent government forces from launching from that exact area which is inconvenient but not detrimental.

In recent days rebels have also taken major roadways in and out of Aleppo which is really just a giant pile of rubble now.

"Any gains had by the rebels are good, good not only because it limits the Government's ability to wage war but also because taking them works as a kind of moral victory for the rebels, something they can point to to rally their people and perhaps help inspire them to move on and continue to fight. It really won't change much but it certainly won't hurt," said Scrape TV Middle East analyst David Gershwin. "It would be nice if this kind of thing had a real impact but it's not like this is going to scare off the government forces and prompt them to just give up. If they haven't done that by now clearly they aren't going to do it with this airfield which is likely more important to the rebels than the government."

It's not clear how important the base actually is to anyone but the rebels.

"Gains are gains and in war that is usually an advantage, usually. Here it may not be because clearly the Syrian government is acting harshly, perhaps even overly harshly and being cornered could prompt them to act out in a much more aggressive manner, like much more aggressive and that would not be good," continued Gershwin. "There are certainly things the rebels could do to win this thing but just taking territory of marginal value is likely not the best way to go about doing that, or maybe it is, I don't know. This war is pretty confusing."

Government forces have not responded to the attack because they may not care.

Emil Uliya, International Correspondent

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