All war is horrific, but some aspects of war are more horrific than others. The death toll of Syria's civil war was estimated last winter at 470,000, each a singular tragedy. Yet it's often particular weapons, used on particular targets, that cause international condemnation. When the State Department announced on Monday that the United States was suspending efforts to work with Russia on a ceasefire in Syria, the State Department listed in particular the targeting of civilians and aid convoys as the reason for the halt.
Syria's skies are getting a little crowded. The nation is in the throes of a four-year-old civil war, as the brutal embattled dictatorship of Bashar al-Assad attempts to fight off a large array of rebel factions, including radical militants and even ISIS. The war isn't going well for anybody, and its drawn in foreign nations. In Eastern Syria, an American-led coalition is launching strikes against ISIS. Last month, Russia sent forces to prop-up the Assad dictatorship, and they've been conducting airstrikes of their own. The skies are so crowded that this happens:
Military secrets are only as secure the loneliest private. A report by online network security firm FireEye details that in the ongoing Syrian civil war, online forces loyal to Syria's brutal Assad dictatorship have obtained information from rebel groups through such simple means as a friendly chat and a picture of a smiling face. Cyberwar, done on the scale of catfishing.
