To begin with, there is the Assad regime, which demostrates not only a strange post-Soviet one-party state, but also a form of personalist regime akin to the Kim dynasty in the North Korea. It is also very clear that the Assad regime as a personalist regime is built on the ethnic tensions of Syria and favors its Alawite minority.

Things were looking bright for Syria during the Arab Spring, however when it became clear that protests alone weren't going to be enough to reform the government, violent means were resorted to. Suddenly, Syria became the site of proxy wars and foreign intervention.

I think Syria, along with Palestine and Egypt, is at the center of the Arab Winter. It is humanitarian disaster and is also a geopolitical mess, with nations backing multiple sides and the conflict birthing the Islamic State (ISIS). Syria comes to characterize the failures of Arab regimes of the past half-century.

From a personal perspective, the Syrian rebels are living dangerous lives, as they move city to city, making sure that each village is safe from the presence of ISIS, who they claim is a dangerous presence in the region. Ironically, the Syrian rebels are themselves very religious and claim to also want to establish an "Islamic State," however through the video it is clear that this meaning is different from the "Caliphate" that ISIS wants to establish.

In class, we've discussed how ISIS does provide social services and wants to provide oil revenue to the people. However, where the Syrian rebels differ with ISIS is that the Syrian rebels accuse ISIS of human rights abuses, a point that was also brought up in class. They accuse ISIS of murdering their own militants and innocent civilians. They also perceive ISIS as foreign invaders, smearing them as "al-Baghdadi's gangs." The Syrian Rebels also are disgusted with how ISIS attack Christian minorities in Syria, which the Syrian rebels want to protect based on their interpretation of Islam. In an interview, a commander of the Syrian rebels openly states that ISIS claims to act on behalf of Islam but fail to act in accordance with Islam. This shows some sectarianism that is endemic with the Arab Winter, where the Syrian rebels and ISIS have competing visions on the future of Syria and therefore are in opposition with one another.

Finally, the video ends with the journalist reminding the audience that ultimately the goal of the Syrian rebels is to topple the Assad regime, however they are currently distracted and must secure the Northern region from the presence of ISIS.

After reading the Economist article on the Arab Winter, this video gave me more a first-person perspective on the Arab Winter. Not only do I see the sectarian divisions that are plaguing the people of Syria, but I also see the immense amount of violence and stress that the population is put under. The video also gave me insight into the daily lives and motives of the Syrian rebels. It's great to read about these things in the papers, but its another thing to see these things unfolding before your eyes.