In the region, right now, it’s hard to expect much from anyone, especially in Syria. Who are the Syrian Rebels? The environment is corrupt; everyone is in survival mode – and there is no clear victory in sight. The West continues to rely on a band of rebels in Syria to lead a decaying revolution. At this point, for what are the rebels fighting? More importantly, what is the plan when they win – or when there’s a window for regime change?

Is it reasonable to ask the Sunni rebel groups to attack the Sunni extremist group ISIL? Forget what you know as an informed person. What you know about ISIL is not necessarily the average rebel’s perspective or reality. More importantly, ISIL is terrifying to most in the region. Not quite as terrifying but also scary is Jabhat Al – Nusra, who has rebranded itself, possibly to court uncle sugar and avoid counter-terror legal framework, for a time. If you were a rebel fighter would you want to attack ISIL? A group that mass murders people without any regard for human life. In fact, they make sure your last moments are your worst. I don’t know if I would from a practical standpoint.

The Daily Beast reported that the Syrian rebels were backing out of the fight against ISIL. Meanwhile, Russia has been attacking U.S. backed rebels. The Pentagon is both confused and flabbergasted by Putin’s audacity. But, how can he do this? It could be that it’s difficult to define who are and are not the backed rebels on the group. Russian Insider, no doubt with a flavor or propaganda reported the U.S. backed rebels joined with ISIL to attack the Syrian regime. No way, not our rebels. But, if ISIL approached them, threatened them – would they not consider? More importantly, the rebels initially enlisted to remove Assad. Their chief desire is to eliminate Assad, not ISIL. In fact, on the list of terrorist organizations the rebels are worried about, I bet Hezbollah ranks higher than ISIL.

In a disturbing revelation the rebels beheaded a young boy in Aleppo. Many say the reports aren’t confirmed entirely. But there are enough reports and legitimacy surrounding the reporting to deduce these men are with the rebels. Then, the rebel group called the act a ‘mistake”. It’s even said they made arrests and investigated the matter. Maybe that’s why they’re called the moderates in the region – they can’t even own up to their convictions. We have to take a closer look at who we think we’re dealing with and the reality of the situation on the ground in Syria.

Featured image courtesy of truecapitalist.wikia.com.