cjchivers:

MANPADS and Syria.

Every day, all across Syria, antigovernment fighters post videos of their operations, a daily record of such volume that it is almost impossible to follow in full and do the many other aspects of this job. Many videos resemble each other, and the old and new blur together with time into a mosaic of violence that is both numbing and coherent. A few videos stand out. This new video, showing the use of what appears to be an FN-6 shoulder-fired heat-seeking missile, fits into the latter category. For months we have covered the spread of portable anti-aircraft missiles through the conflict. Once their presence became a clearly established fact we spent less time noting each development, as the news value of each sighting declined. But remember: the more familiar such sights become, the greater the danger to the Syrian Air Force, and the deeper the long-term regional security concern. It is worth noting too the value of these missiles as propaganda tools, as this video appears to show, according to those who follow each video more closely than we can from the field, a mix of a recent shot with old footage — another complication in a lingering worry, and an old game. For sustained coverage of the MANPADS proliferation, have a look at the Brown Moses blog, or At War.