Noose of war tightens on Syria's capital

Syrians stand at the scene of an explosion in the Mazzeh al-Jabal district of Damascus, Nov. 5, 2012. / AP/SANA

DAMASCUS Like a noose, war is drawing in tight around the Syrian capital.

While the citizens of Damascus wait anxiously for good news -- that someone, somewhere has found a solution -- they try to adjust to the new normal.

That new normal consists of the sporadic thunder of mortar fire, night and day, military checkpoints that choke rush hour traffic to a standstill, and two huge water-tankers blocking the road outside Syria's central bank -- in case it takes a direct hit and catches fire.

The new normal is kids no longer allowed to play outside because car bombs explode without warning -- often near Security Service buildings, but not always.

There are stray bullets in once peaceful parks, and everywhere the signs of an economy on its knees.

• New coalition aside, Syria rebels remain divided
• Watch: Syria's civil war spills over into Mideast conflict
• Complete coverage: After the Arab Spring

Lost and shocked souls, some 175,000 of them, have flooded into Damascus from the blasted towns and villages in the surrounding area. After 18 months of slow-motion civil war, the communities around the capital are now wastelands of smashed concrete, shelled apartments and groups of roving rebel fighters toting AK-47s.

Foreign journalists are not allowed to travel to the suburbs ("for your own safety," says the Syrian government), but even from inside the city, we can hear and see the Syrian regime's forces firing mortars and shells into these areas.

It's hard to tell how many people are still living in the rubble and filth of these once-thriving neighborhoods. They were also centers of resistance, from the very beginning of the uprising, against President Bahsar Assad.

That was more than 20 months ago. Now, one local opposition activist has estimated that 80 percent of the inhabitants of the suburbs have fled. The few thousand who remain are civilians too poor or too ill to leave, or opposition supporters who have picked up guns and video cameras to fight.

The Syrian military hasn't explained why its artillery and warplanes are shelling these suburbs so relentlessly. With the inevitable toll on civilian life and infrastructure, it seems a crude and inefficient way to try and defeat the highly mobile, lightly armed small groups of rebel fighters.

It may, however, be the only offensive Assad's desperately over-stretched and poorly trained army can muster.

Judging from the new normal, with the sound of gunfire edging closer to downtown every week, it's not working.

[spacengin]

Well Putin and Komeninae, this is your guys' outcome, death and destruction. You will loose your Syrian naval bases, your Syrian connection to Hezbolla, and you win the hatred of the Syrian people. Maybe a policy shift is in order.

[skithebumps]

Hillary can solve this little disagreement before she flies back to D.C.

[joesapper]

As Syria falls from the grip of Iran & assad , the Gaza thing will only spread to other regions , as the terror influence will only be fueled by more weapons and thugs .

The IAEA Chief stated yesterday that the sanctions against Iran has had Zero effect on the Iranian nuclear program , so the facts of one are not in line with others , but hey , whats knew about these reports as according to some the Libya attack was due to a video and not a planed terror attack .