Obama's new war in IraqThe first line quoted is an insult the the Free Syrian Army. Cockburn is now promoting an alliance with Assad, and abandoning the real fight with the promise that the masses will rise again isn't much help to Syrians. There are other things wrong both in the sections quoted and in the rest of the article.
'Obama has secured $500 million in funding for what the U.S. calls the moderate opposition to the regime. Assad has responded that any such surveillance and bombing would be looked upon as a declaration of war--in the hopes of pressuring Obama into an alliance against ISIS.
As Independent journalist Patrick Cockburn reports:
"The U.S. has already covertly assisted the Assad government by passing on intelligence about the exact location of jihadi leaders through the BND, the German intelligence service...This may explain why Syrian aircraft and artillery have been able to on occasion been able to target accurately rebel commanders and headquarters."
By opposing intervention, we can provide space for the genuine forces for liberation that we saw emerge in the Arab Spring to regroup and build so they can provide an alternative to sectarian religious forces. Undoubtedly, the masses will rise again, because the counter-revolution offers nothing to their demands for democracy, equality and liberation.'