Syrians are deeply split after years of warfare, survey finds“Many of the doubts regime opponents held about the Free Syrian Army (FSA) last year have dissipated,” wrote the survey’s author, Craig Charney. “Now, views of the rebel army are almost entirely positive, despite the reported setbacks that it has encountered in the field. Respondents described the FSA as the ‘real army’ and the best hope against the regime.”
Charney does also say he thinks Syrians would hope the plan for a local ceasefire in Aleppo works, despite their greater knowledge that this is a recipé for more starvation by the régime. Everyone, whether in the régime areas where any dissent can mean torture and death, or in the liberated areas where the fear of Assad remains, is afraid to be frank in their opinions; any survey, especially one of only 40 people, is not going to provide accurate polling, but the opinions are instructive, such as the lack of support for any partition of Syria.