The New York Times:
Mr. Assad could probably take Qusayr, a crucial area because it lies near the border and links Damascus with the rebel-held north and the government-held coast.
The Wall Street Journal:
The bloody battle over the city of Qusayr, near the Lebanese border, has the potential to transform Syria’s conflict, say fighters, diplomats and analysts. A government victory there could give the regime of President Bashar al-Assad a corridor of territory connecting Damascus to Syria’s pro-Assad coastline and to Lebanese territory controlled by Iran-backed Hezbollah.
The Globe & Mail:
The small city, about 100 miles northwest of the Syrian capital, Damascus, is crucial to supply routes for both sides. Qusair is a conduit for rebel supplies and fighters from Lebanon, and it links Damascus to the Mediterranean coast, which is the heartland for Mr. al-Assad’s minority Alawite sect.
A map of south-west Syria shows Damascus at the bottom, Homs in the upper right and Tartus at the cost in the upper-left. The marker “A” points to the city of Qusayr. It lies across road number 4 which runs from the north-east to the south-west connecting Homs with Baalbek in Lebanon.
Notice that there is no road through Qusayr running from the south-east to north-west. There is not even a minor connection from Damascus to Tartus that runs through the town. If you were planning a trip from Damascus to Tartus would you consider passing through Qusayr? Unless you would want to walk you likely would not do so. Why then are journalists asserting that the Syrian government would do so?
Qusayr does not “links Damascus to the Mediterranean coast” unless you want to walk the direct line through the fields. Its sole military value is its position across the insurgency’s supply line from Lebanon to Homs. The insurgents know that very well:
“To lose Qusair would be a disaster; we will lose the whole city of Homs,” said Fadi al-Issa, a fighter with the opposition Farouq Brigade
But why are the above quoted news sources falsely insisting that Qusayr is a link between Damascus and Tartus?
These journalist try to insert an official “western” narrative of an Alawite regime ruling over a majority Sunni land. The sole purpose to connect the fighting in Qasayr to some route between Damascus and the Syrian coast is to introduce and narrate the supposedly sectarian fighting. This despite the facts that the Syrian government includes many Sunnis, that the Syrian army troops are mainly Sunnis and the inhabitants of the big harbor cities in the alleged “Alawite heartland” at the coast are also mainly Sunni. The whole idea of some “Alawite state” at the Syrian coast is therefor pretty stupid but the media keep inserting that over and over.
The fighting in Syria is not about Sunnis versus Alawite. The fighting is rather between those who favor to live in a secular republic versus those who want a Sunni Islamic regime in one form or another.
Misreading the map and thereby inserting a sectarian view of the conflict is contrary to the facts and serious journalistic malpractice.