LATimes: "Foes of Bashar Assad have yet to win over much of the population!"

Via FLC

"... Government opponents have yet to win over much of the population, which includes an affluent business community that greatly values the stability that, in the last few years, had been a hallmark of Assad's rule.

A pair of deadly car bombings here last week, which the government blamed on terrorists, unnerved many and reinforced Assad's unvarying message: The opposition will plunge Syria into chaos, bloodshed and Iraq-style sectarian slaughter... ...

Some frustrated opposition activists now argue for taking up arms, a step already embraced by many in rebel-held villages just a few miles outside town.... Yet the fear remains that more violent opposition tactics could prove counterproductive... Aleppo's activists remain engaged in the most basic kind of hearts-and-minds campaign, championing the revolution among family, friends and trusted co-workers. In any gathering, the escalating unrest tearing the nation apart is inevitably the dominant theme of discussion...

For the moment, Aleppo's opposition has yet to establish a regular street protest regimen ... "The other cities are saying they expect something big in Aleppo," said Hassan. "The day Aleppo rises they expect to see 50,000 coming out in Sadallah bin Jabri Square," one of the city's central gathering spots.

"That's not going to happen," Hassan said.

In late June, a day that had been dubbed "Volcano Aleppo," in the hope that the city would erupt in spontaneous anti-Assad rallies, quickly fizzled.... .... campus protests have been random and disorganized, with students from each department acting autonomously..."

River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian  
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