Five Depressing Thoughts About Arming Syria’s Rebels

June 14 (Bloomberg) -- Here are five observations, most ofthem depressing, about the Syrian civil war, formulated in lightof the announcement by the White House that President Bashar al-Assad’s regime has, in fact, used chemical weapons and that, inresponse, the U.S. will supply small arms and ammunition to theSyrian rebels.

1. This move is possibly not too late, but it is certainlytoo little if the goal is to defeat Assad. The battle forAleppo, the center of rebel strength, appears to be upon us. IfAleppo falls to the combined forces of Assad and the Iranian-backed terrorist group Hezbollah, many thousands of people willbe killed and the uprising will, in all likelihood, come to anend. Civil unrest will continue, but the back of the rebellionwill have been broken.