This Is What the World’s Bloodiest War Looks Like #8
A photo a day from the Syrian civil war
by DAVID AXE
Thirty months. More than 100,000 dead. Millions displaced. The Syrian civil war is by far the bloodiest war in all the world today—and it could only get worse as the political, economic, humanitarian and sectarian crises it has spawned spill into neighboring countries.
Syrian Pres. Bashar Al Assad’s air force is his greatest advantage over the ragtag fighters of the rebel Free Syrian Army. Assad’s jets and helicopters relentlessly bombard rebel positions and civilians with apparently no discrimination.
Unlike in Afghanistan in the 1980s, the U.S. has not provided shoulder-fired surface-to-air missiles to opposition fighters. And in contrast to Iraq in the 1990s and Libya two years ago, no international alliance has come together to enforce a no-fly zone over rebel territory.
The rebels have captured some regime surface-to-air missiles, such as the giant SA-2 picture above. But the FAS lacks the expertise, early-warning systems and command-and-control to actually put the captured defenses to use.
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