In Tartous, Syria, women wear black, youth in hiding and bitterness grows If you are one of those who got confused about who, how, and why in the Syrian war and have given up taking a clear judgment and position, or you are like the majority who have taken the mainstream Shi'a-Sunni war(or conflict) as a given, you should think again. Here is a background to start with: Syria: from authoritarianism to upheaval (pdf fomat)
“The West won the world not by the superiority of its ideas or values or religion (to which few members of other civilizations were converted) but rather by its superiority in applying organized violence. Westerners often forget this fact; non-Westerners never do.” —Samuel P. Huntington, The Clash of Civilisation and the Remaking of the World Order, 1996, p. 51