Yet, as long as Assad’s forces can attack opposition-controlled neighborhoods with helicopters and fixed-wing airplanes, the opposition’s ability to overthrow the regime with the arms that are now available to it seems questionable. What is more certain is that the presence of armed fighters in a neighborhood provokes aerial attacks that destroy civilian infrastructure and maim and kill those residents who have not fled.
当然，有人在向叙利亚反对派提供武器，特别是卡塔尔和沙特等海湾国家。但是，只要巴沙尔的军队能够调用直升机和固定翼飞机袭击反对派控制的社区，反对派就很难通过现在能够搞到的武器推翻巴沙尔政权。更加可以肯定的是，只要社区里出现武装反对派，就会招来空袭，摧毁民用基础设施，让没能逃脱的居民丧命或致残。