And the region.

This is going to be some crazy day for President Obama, huh?

isn't going to have any friends.

Way to go Obama!

My rightwing friend said Obama was going to start a war in Syria. I need to give her a call today.

but it looks like Saudi Arabia and Turkey are supplying the guns and sanctuary for the rebels. The US can't be directly involved for a variety of reasons.

While it is a large group of people it is hardly a mass defection.

Has all the ingredients for an enduring civil war: ethnic and religious disagreements, interested neighbors, geographic divisions, central location, porus borders, etc.

kindly.

"They came with their families and were taken to Apaydin camp a few miles inside the border, Anatolia reports."

I wonder how much it would cost to get an American General to defect? People selling out their country to outsider invaders is not a new phenomena. Also anyone else find it strange that the Arab league that is made up exclusively of dictators and Monarchs are calling for democracy in Syria? Sad but a lot of the so called Syria opposition do not understand that their country is a pon in the real fight and that is the fight for Iran. They do not care about you, not the women or the children, they just want you for Iran.

Stay classy Generals

For someone who was defending Gaddafi until practically the very end, accusations of selling out ones people constitute some very big words.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=4966696&mesg_id=4966991

"Stay classy" indeed.

despite the most godawful atrocities.

One of these defectors stated that if there were a safe zone, all of the military wold defect in short order.
They are disgusted at what is going on.

The person who is not staying classy is Assad. Unless you think atrocities are classy.

if the US was under a dictatorial regime that was using the military to slaughter civilians in American population centers. It's kind of funny that leaving behind the regime massacring your countrymen is "selling out" your country now.

who are now officially bankrolling these so-called "rebels" (after quasi-officially doing so since the start).

Another aspect to consider for the near future is when the Saudi & Qatari factions among the "rebels" break into open warfare with each other, like they are doing in Egypt at the moment at a low, increasing level.