Syria Direct quotes Rafik Hariri Center Resident Fellow Faysal Itani on the media offensive undertaken by the Syrian opposition as the battle for the rebel-held town of Yabroud continues:
Analysts suggest that the toned-down rhetoric may reflect Hezbollah’s recognition that Yabroud will not fall as quickly as the earlier media campaign had predicted.
“I imagine they want to manage expectations over the campaign, as it’s likely to be rather slow and costly,” said Faysal Itani, a fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East, in comments to Syria Direct Monday.
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“Hezbollah has not yet succeeded in cutting off supply lines into the central Beqaa Valley and Arsal in particular,” explains Itani.
“The Arsal issue is politically loaded,” says Itani. “Depriving the rebels of strategic depth here would require operating in a hostile Sunni population zone sympathetic to the rebels – something that both Hezbollah and the Lebanese Armed Forces would prefer to avoid.”