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Graphic: Strategically important areas under contention in Syria.
Chemical Watershed: Momentum Shifts Again In Syrian Civil War -- Christoph Reuter and Holger Stark, Spiegel Online
The US has stepped back from an immediate response to the use of chemical weapons in Syria on Aug. 21. But Washington continues to profess certainty that Syrian autocrat Bashar Assad is behind the attack. The situation on the ground provides clues as well.
Two and a half years after the beginning of the uprising, Damascus has become an eerily empty city. The streets were deserted last Friday evening in the remaining regime-controlled districts -- from Bab Tuma in the east to Mezzeh in the west -- where there is still electricity, running water and phone service.
The Syrian capital was bracing itself for the worst. Last Thursday alone, over 10,000 people reportedly fled across the border into Lebanon, and hundreds of families of soldiers have left their apartments.
The headquarters of the intelligence agencies had been largely vacated and, according to one guard on duty, nearly all Alawite officers and generals had headed for the port city of Tartus and the surrounding area.
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My Comment: The above map gives an accurate representation on how divided Syria has become. As to the momentum shifting .... if a military intervention is ordered by President Obama .... and U.S. missiles are used to strike critical command and control centers as well as infrastructure in a sustained manner .... I will have to say yes .... the momentum will be shifting in favor of the rebels.
Update: Syrian rebels have made it clear that they are getting ready to exploit any U.S. military strike to their advantage .... Syrian rebels plan raids to exploit Western strikes: commander -- Reuters