Syria's DIY Revolution

In the last three weeks, the military dynamics in Syria have shifted so dramatically that, although it’s too soon to predict an endgame, it is clear that the Assad regime is now losing the war. This has had a galvanizing effect on Western powers, now panicking about their lack of influence with the armed opposition. The most significant development is the opposition’s use of surface-to-air missiles, which destroyed two Syrian aircraft within the space of 24 hours this week. On Tuesday, a Russian-made Mi-8 transport helicopter was struck in the skies near Aleppo by a heat-seeking missile, possibly a Russian-made Strela-2 (or an SA-7 in NATO parlance). On Wednesday, a Syrian warplane was downed by a missile near Darat Azzah, and its pilot was captured and given medical treatment by the people who downed it.