In interview with ToI, a Free Syrian Army officer expresses hope for friendly relations with Jewish state, warns of Iranian militias propping up Assad: ‘They will come for Israel, too’
The commander interviewed by The Times of Israel participated in the recent seizure of Aleppo and his troops are now fighting government forces, Hezbollah and Iran-backed militias in the area, and pushing south.
The rebel leader, in his early 60s, agreed to be interviewed by phone on condition of anonymity and spoke of the objectives of the ongoing campaign, his vision for the future of Syria and relations with Israel, and the role the Jewish state can play, in his view, in support of the rebels.
I think you are highly oversimplifying the situation.
The rapid fall of the Assad regime means the end of the Syrian civil war, which is a good thing. Syria has been plagued by war for more than a decade now, perhaps some peace will finally settle and the millions of Syrian refugees will finally return to their homes. As for what happens after, it remains to be seen. The rebels are no monolith, they contain everything from Turkish backed mercenaries, jihadists to mostly secular Syrian anti-Assad nationalists.
Those who simply assume that the rebels are wholly “good” are no doubt naive, but there is certainly hope that the more reasonable elements of the movement will prevail and institute a more free society, perhaps by cooperating with the Kurdish autonomous zone in the east. If that happens however, or something else like a taliban-esque islamist theocratic tyranny is instituted instead remains to be seen.