One of Syria's most powerful military officers was killed in fighting with al-Qaida-linked Islamic extremists in an oil-rich eastern province largely controlled by the rebels, Syrian state-run television said Thursday. ...
Maj. Gen. Jameh Jameh was killed in the provincial capital of Deir el-Zour, where he was the head of military intelligence, state-run TV said. He was the most senior military officer to be killed in more than a year. ...
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Jameh was killed by a sniper bullet during clashes with rebels, including members of al-Qaida-linked Jabhat al-Nusra or Nusra Front.
Jameh's cousin, Haitham Jameh, told Lebanon-based Al-Mayadeen TV that the general was killed when a bomb exploded as he led his troops in an operation in Deir el-Zour, site of more than a year of clashes between regime forces and rebel fighters, who control most of the province.
What was Jameh doing exposed to enemy fire? Is command and control so screwed up out there that a major general has to lead troops in clashes with rebels?
We're used to the concept of a strategic corporal where we expect lower ranking troops to exercise judgment in tactical actions that can have strategic impact. Is Syria's military down so much in the east that they have tactical generals because they don't have lower ranking leaders to command operations in the field?
UPDATE: Since the general was apparently leading a small operation in the field, it makes sense that that only real response Syria could make is from the air:
Syrian air force jets bombarded the eastern city of Deir al-Zor on Friday after heavy overnight clashes and the killing of one of President Bashar al-Assad's top military intelligence officers, activists said.
I still think rebels should be making major efforts to reduce the Syrian outposts in the east. Do that and they have a vast rear area to recruit and train for the main front in the west, while cutting off Assad from Iran through Iraq by land routes across Syria. Think of that sequence as similar to the Union's Civil War western front to split the Confederacy and weaken their forces before the main front in the east could be decisive.
