and of course all the sources you quote were there at the time, saw all these events unfold and faithfully reported every nuance.
Sorry Jim, I was in Damascus when it all kicked off and for several years before.
    I do not believe Assad is a saint anymore than I believe the more extreme views presented by you.
The truth lies somewhere in between well muddied by foreign interference and manipulation. If the true reason to topple Assad was merely the fact he was regarded as a bad boy, surely in terms of some of his neighbours his regime was far from being the worst.
Britain supplies cluster bombs to Saudi to wipe out innocent Yemenis and gets all hoity toity when the legitimate Syrian government and it's allies decide that the best cure for terrorism is extermination.

America and its allies adopt exactly the same tactics in Mosul and we are supposed to applaud them for saving civilisation.

It is a funny world we inhabit.