No one can watch the ongoing violence in Syria without a sense of horror at the armed attacks on largely unarmed civilians, overwhelmingly by groups that support President Bashar al-Assad’s regime. But those who say that Syria is on the brink of civil war miss what has become more obvious with each passing day: Syria alreadyis in a state of civil war, one whose battle lines were drawn months ago.
没人可以毫无恐惧感地坐视那些目前持续发生在叙利亚国内的，对手无寸铁平民的武装袭击——且主要是由总统阿萨德的支持者发动的。但那些认为叙利亚正处于内战边缘的人也忽视了一个每过一天都变得越发明显的事实：叙利亚已经处于内战状态，而且战线早在数月之前就已划定了。