Why rebels have failed in Syria

 'The Syrian people took America's shelling of the al-Nusra and ISIS bases in Idlib as an indicator that it was at war against Islam, one former fighter told me. Citizens thought "if the Americans are serious in helping the Syrian people, they should have shelled the government bases, not the rebels and civilians." Many civilians were reported killed and injured after the American air raids, prompting both anger toward the Americans and towards the groups that are funded by the Americans (like the FSA), as they are increasingly considered "part of the problem." '

 Civilians in Syria aren't trapped between competing proxy forces, but between a government trying to kill them and rebel forces given barely any support, which is the cause of the corruption and failure to defend communities made in this author's first three points. The problem isn't that Saudi Arabia and Qatar have been diverting the opposition to their own purposes (how can fighting against Assad be a diversion?), but that the Americans have not allowed them to support the Free Syrian Army enough. But for those who see Gulf funding and names of brigades like Lions of Islam and assume it's all a Wahhabi plot, the truth is not plain to see. Also see, "Most Prominent Massacres Perpetrated by Shiite Militias in Syria"*.

 *[http://sn4hr.org/blog/2015/01/23/2853/]