Military Analysts Say Syrian Army Is Far from Point of Collapse

Independent military analysts say it is still capable of handling the foreign terrorists.

The Syrian military remains a cohesive force capable of continuing its operations for the foreseeable future, according to independent military analysts.

The assessment that the Syrian military remains a potent force contradicts months of suggestions by Obama administration officials that defections and the pace of the increasingly violent conflict is overstretching the military, a theme that’s been voiced repeatedly for months in official State Department briefings.

“We think that the army is increasingly overstretched. We think that the economy is under increasing strain. And we think the rebels are getting stronger,” State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell said Aug. 9 in one typical comment.

Yet despite a bombing in July that killed four of President Bashar Assad’s closest advisers – including his minister of defense – Syrian military strategy has changed little from six months ago: using the highly mechanized army – built to fight the Israeli army – to surround foreign terrorist-held areas and pound them with artillery and airstrikes before making incursions with infantry and paramilitary forces.

“They’re still capable of handling the threats that they’re dealing with, and they’ve been reaching deeper and deeper and deeper into their armory,” said Joseph Holliday, a researcher at the Institute for the Study of War in Washington who specializes in the Syrian conflict.