"... a group of Christian women headed into the Old City to view the remains of their family home. The Christian minority is generally effusive about the “liberation” of an area central to their ancient identity. “The Army has swept away all of the bad people from our city,” said Hannan Ragap, 45, a mother of two who sported spike heels and jeans as she walked toward the Old City. In the adjacent Zahra district, people were savoring a victory against what many view as an existential threat from a radical Islamist force.

'Let's admit it: Time has come for an agreement,' Abdel says. ... The model, he says, is Homs, where cease-fires are now beginning to appeal to weary rebel fighters in Aleppo. 'We are not surrendering, because we will prevent Assad from staying in power, but through other means. Nobody can prevail with weapons. Do you know what is there, on the western side, in the direction of this mortar? Do you know what I am shooting at? There is my house. I am shooting at my house.'

But the dirty secret in Syria today is that, if the presidential election were free and fair, Bashar Al Assad would still win.

US Secretary of State John Kerry seems to be on a personal mission to draw the US into an invasion of Syria. At the least, he remains determined to continue backing the rebellion against the Syrian government until the country is completely destroyed.Meeting yesterday in London, the self-styled "Friends of Syria," including, in addition to the US and UK, such model democracies as Qatar , Saudi Arabia, and Turkey , determined to increase assistance to those who for three years have fought to overthrow the Syrian government.Kerry took the opportunity at the meeting to again accuse the Syrian government of using chemical weapons, apparently not at all chastened by his fraudulent claims to the same effect last year. "Raw data" suggests the Syrian government used chlorine gas recently, Kerry claimed this time. Very raw, no doubt.Meanwhile, US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said on the same day that, “We’ve not seen any evidence” of additional chemical attacks. It seems that the US administration is at war with itself , with Kerry seeming to go rogue at every opportunity.Recall last summer that Kerry said unambiguously that "we know" that Assad used chemical weapons in Ghouta. Also remember that he was completely wrong, having placed the US on the brink of invading another country on a trumped-up pretext But even though an agreement was reached last summer whereby the Syrian government agreed to give up its strategic chemical arsenal -- an agreement that was kept -- the US only intensified its support for regime change.In fact, the US recently launched a pilot program to provide deadly TOW missiles to the "moderate" opposition. However, it has already been reported that these missiles almost immediately landed in the hands of radicals in Syria, including fighters from the notorious al-Nusra Front. In short, the US is providing some of the deadliest weapons in its arsenal to affiliates of al-Qaeda.Were the indefinite detention provisions of the National Defense Authorization Act actually enforced, Secretary Kerry and much of the US Administration would currently be in custody, held incommunicado without charge or access to legal counsel. But such laws do not apply to those in charge of making or executing them.Tragically, this ramping up of aid to the extremist-dominated rebels in Syria comes amid the first signs of a way out from the three year long nightmare. In Homs, considered the birthplace of the rebellion, government forces and rebels reached an agreement for a peaceful rebel withdrawal from the city. The years-long fight ended and almost immediately the population began returning to their city to begin rebuilding.Had the US propaganda about the Assad regime been true, we would of course have seen government forces slaughtering the people upon their return. But in fact the opposite was true, as the Syrian flag was raised again in the city and the people set out to return to what is left of their homes.As even the Los Angeles Times discovered In Aleppo, still rebel-controlled, anti-government fighters are looking wearily but with hope at the peaceful surrender of Homs.The publication al-Monitor quotes Syrian rebel "Abdel" fighting in Aleppo:The absurdity of the struggle laid bare, a "rebel" reduced to shooting at his own house!It is against this backdrop that the US seeks to actually intensify and prolong the war. It is against this backdrop that John Kerry continues to push for US involvement in Syria, to the point of again making wild claims with zero evidence. Listen to the disoriented but murderous rage in his voice The US Secretary of State yesterday condemned the upcoming presidential vote in Syria, saying, "Together, we are unified in saying that Assad's staged elections are a farce. They're an insult. They are a fraud on democracy, on the Syrian people and on the world."However, as even the United Arab Emirates' English language The National (recall that UAE, being one of the "Friends of Syria" is far from pro-Assad), concludes Kerry is again making up his own reality.Meanwhile not a word from Kerry about a rebel car bombing yesterday that killed dozens of civilians. Not a word about rebels blocking water to civilians in Aleppo, creating a humanitarian disaster of horrific proportions. Some humanitarian disasters are more equal than others.Has John Kerry gone mad? Can Obama for some reason not fire him? Are there any adults left?