I don’t know what to watch or what to look for in Syria today: unsettled borders with Lebanon and Turkey?  The impact of the war on children?  On journalists?  The count in refugees and the too familiar hardships with which they are forced to live, courtesy of the Great Cock Fight about nothing?

If you take it cold in numbers — “An average of 6,000 Syrians a day have fled their war-torn country since the beginning of 2013 . . . .” — it only numbs reasoning.

Six is a news story.

Six thousand is a small epic, already remote.

Six million, that most noted among dismal figures, yaws the mind into the unfathomable.

***

Kamal Hamami, the FSA commander, was killed as he went to a meeting of al Qaeda-backed rebels to discuss joint operations against the Syrian army, a U.S. official said, confirming Middle East press reports.

Hamami had opposed the al Qaeda-linked rebels and said there was no place for them within the opposition forces.

He was killed in Latakia province . . . .

Gertz, Bill.  “Al Qaeda Rebels Kill Free Syrian Army Commander: Assassination triggers third front in Syrian civil war.”  The Washington Free Beacon, July 19, 2013.

***

What do you do with that snippet of news?

Do you recall the Al Qaeda-type infiltration of a small refugee camp in Lebanon and the group’s effort to fund themselves by robbing a bank, thus also revealing themselves?

The razing of Nahr al-Bared took place in 2007.

When the fighting broke out between Lebanese Defense Forces and “Fatah al-Islam”, close to 30,000 Palestinian refugees were bused away, and because under a pan-Arab compact, Lebanon had agreed not to enter the camp — if you don’t already know how this story goes, you will roll your eyes or shoulders or both at what happens next — Lebanon’s military cordoned the camp, positioned tanks where needed, and took it apart, “built it down”, round after round after round.  Only at the end, and to reach hold-outs beneath the ground, was the site bombed (Shawish, Hesham, “Helicopters pound militants with 400-kilogram bombs at Nahr al-Bared,” The Daily Star, Lebanon, August 20, 2007).

There’s a side trip down a damned memory lane — I almost forget I was thinking about Syria.

Additional Reference — Actually, An Overview

Aikins, Matthieu.  “Commuting to Syria.”  Men’s Journal, July 2013: “The killings and kidnappings of journalists covering the conflict in Syria have become so prevalent that most now live across the border in Turkey.”

Arfaqui, Jamel.  “Libyan Weapons Fuel Syria Bloodshed.”  Megharebia (Washiington DC), All Africa, July 18, 2013.

Atassi, Basma and Mohammed Haddad.  “Interactive: Mapping Syria’s rebellion.”  Al Jazeera, July 19, 2013.

Al-Samadi, Tamer.  “Jordan: Salafist Leader Foresees Post-Assad Conflict With Secularists.”  Al-Monitor, July 15, 2013.

Bracken, Amy.  “A Wheelchair View of the Syrian Civil War.”  The World, July 18, 2013.

Caldwell, Maggie, Niclas Hammarstrom/ Kontinent, zReportage, ZUMA Press.  “The Last Days of a Rebel-Held Hospital in Syria.” Mother Jones, December 2012.

Committee to Protect Journalists.  Syria page.

Dettmer, Jamie.  “Doubt Over Syrian Steps to Control Hyperinflation.”  VOA, July 12, 2013.

Gordts, Eline.  “Zaatari Refugee Camp Photos Highlight Enormity of Syria’s Refugee Crisis.”  Huffington Post, July 18, 2013.

Himelfarb, Joel.  “Israeli Doctors Quietly Treating Syria War Victims.”  Newsmax, July 8, 2013.

Jones, Dorian.  “Turkey Alarmed at Syrian Border Fighting.”  VOA, July 18, 2013.

Karim, Sharif.  “Hezbollah Regions Targeted As Syria War Spreads to Lebanon.”  Al-Monitor, July 18, 2013.

Kullab, Samya.  “Desperate Syrian refugees turn to sex work in Lebanon.” Al Bawaba, July 17, 2013.

Lerman, David.  “Dempsey Says Assad Gains in Syria as McCain Demands Views.”  Bloomberg, July 18, 2013.

Prothero, Mitchell.  “Syria’s Nusra Front tries to show it’s a different kind of al Qaida.”  McClatchy, July 17, 2013.

Reuters.  “Syria cracks down on anti-Assad dissidents.”  The Jerusalem Post, July 19, 2013.

Smith, Hannah Lucinda.  “Inside the DIY Weapons Workshops of the Free Syrian Army.”  Motherboard, July 18, 2013.

Staff Report.  “Shahad once lived ‘the best life,’ now the four-year-old Syrian girl needs help.”  Gulf News, July 18, 2013.

Surk, Barbara.  “UN envoy warns of trauma to children in Syria War.”  The Seattle Times, July 18, 2013.

“Watching Syria’s War”.  The New York Times, current.

Wikipedia.  “Doha Centre for Media Freedom”.

Wikipedia.  “List of journalists killed during the Syrian civil war”.

Wood, Paul.  “Christians targeted by foreign Jihadis in Syrian war.”  BBC, July 18, 2013.