Five Points.

This is coolbert:

From that latest edition of the DEBKAfile newsletter an analysis of the Syrian Civil War, the rebels position NOW dis-advantageous as elaborated upon:

"Assad owes his mounting war gains to 5 plus points"

31 July.

"The strides made by the armies of Bashar Assad, Hizballah and Iran in the Aleppo arena and on the Damascus periphery have pushed the Syrian insurgency onto a downward slope for some time to come. DEBKAfile's military sources point to five contributing factors"

 1)  "Russian intervention and military operations are having their full effect after eleven months".

2)  "Assad has been vindicated in his strategy of focusing his military efforts on the four cities of Damascus, Aleppo, Homs and Hama, where half the population is concentrated (even after mass flight)."

 3)  "After more than five years, the rebels have given up hope of substantial US military assistance and accept that the Obama administration's focus has switched to defeating ISIS rather than Assad."

 4)  "Post-coup Turkey is preoccupied with its own internal affairs; its purged military, especially the air force, is in no position to render aid to the fight against the Assad regime."

 5)  "The insurgency's Arab patrons, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE, have tired of propping it up with aid."

Particular attention to point # 2. As it was during the time of the Crusader as it is now!!

coolbert.