Special to WorldTribune.com

WASHINGTON — The United States has determined that the Syrian rebel
movement has enhanced cooperation.

The Defense Department, in a rare open assessment of the
Sunni rebel movement, said Sunni rebel networks throughout Syria were
coordinating.

Officials said this has resulted in a significant enhancement
in attacks on the regime of President Bashar Assad.

“They’re not totally coalesced, but they are finding ways of organizing
themselves more effectively,” Pentagon spokesman George Little said.

In a briefing on June 21, Little  acknowledged that the rebels were making progress in the war against Assad, which began in March 2011.

Little said the brutality of the Assad regime has fueled the revolt. The
spokesman said the rebels as well as the rest of the opposition were growing more determined as the regime was showing weakness.

“It’s my understanding that rigidity often breeds brittleness,” Little
said. “So, at a certain point, we may be looking at a very brittle Assad regime. And that helps the opposition.”

Little said the rebels were acquiring equipment and weapons largely from
the Syrian military. He reaffirmed that Washington was not providing lethal
assistance to the Syrian opposition.

“That’s something [weapons supplies to rebels] that we’ve seen some
indication of happening,” Little said. “I’m not sure that I can call it a
trend at this stage, but there have been instances of that.”

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