Syrian Revolution: Free Syrian Army Bombing Attack is Cowardly

For many Syrians, Wednesday's suicide attack in the heart of Damascus represents a step towards "liberation" and the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime. In the aftermath of the bombing, hundreds of Syrians went out to the streets of Damascus and rejoiced the death of four of their high-ranking generals.

For its part, the Assad regime did not remain silent. The Syrian President was quick to appoint a new Defense minister who spoke on state TV just hours after the death of his predecessor. And, the United States was quick to hail the attack and call for "strong momentum" to reunite the opposition in Syria and resistance forces against the regime. 

Many armed groups have claimed the attack. At this point, it's ridiculous to hear the Free Syrian Army insisting they were the perpetrators of the attack and that they used a detonator to blow the meeting room in the Defense ministry, while state official investigations were leaning to declare the attack as a suicide attack.

Many who know about the Arab Spring will compare the situation in Syria to operation Mermaid Dawn last August in Tripoli, when Libyans rebels managed to take over Gaddafi's last stronghold and terrorize the locals there who were de facto supporters of Gaddafi. But, the Syrian situation is different. The Free Syrian Army just killed four government officials in a cowardly bomb attack. 

The Free Syrian Army is now claiming that this is just the "beginning at the end" of the eruption of the "volcano operations." Yet, they don't have anybody on their side (except petrodollars from the Gulf, perhaps). 

The whole idea of Syrians taking arms against the regime is problematic, because they lack  general political recognition from the international community. Even the Arab states, who have superficially broken their relations with the regime, have not publicly endorsed the rebels or even recognized them as a representation of the Syrian people. 

The Assad regime still looks like it has everything under control, despite the sudden bomb attack. They have absolutely more might and money than the Free Syrian Army and the armed opposition.  Moreover, the new claims that Syria has an arsenal of chemical weapons that the regime might use against civilians won't make Russia or China change their positions on the conflict.

The EU, U.S. and the UN can probably impose more sanctions on Syrian high state officials, but drying the country's economy will only lead the people to more poverty and misery. If the Free Syrian Army is about to overthrow the regime, this only means that thousands of more might perish in one of the deadliest wars the region might witness since the Lebanese civil war.