Worldview: Syria talks
headed for failure
'Under siege, he said, Syrians tolerated various shades of Islamist militias - more mainstream or even extreme hard-liners - because they arrived with money, guns, and good organization. When the West failed to provide aid to non-Islamist militias, those defending their villages against regime soldiers had few choices.
"People needed guns and that's where the Islamists came in," said Hadad. "When people have no hope, the thing you believe in, the only thing you have left, is faith." '