Good analysis, @sarahabed. One thing we need to agree on is to not accept the definitions of certain groups by MSM and their backers. You know who I mean. For example, the FSA is the Free Syrian Army while those forces loyal to their country - not even necessarily Assad - are called the called the SAF, or Syrian Armed Forces.
This is deliberatelyconfusing and the average public reader or viewer will mix this up regularly. We could fix this by simply calling the legit forces of Syria the SM, or Syrian Military. The rebels and foreign fighters, jihadists, and paid US/Israel/Saudi Arabia mercenaries should be called something like the OM or Oppositon Military. They can't be similar acronyms.
Thank you, do you mean referring to the Syrian Arab Army as the Syrian Military? Was there a particular reference I made that you didn't think was fitting?
Your article articulated the points very well. I was generalizing by saying that "we need to agree on one thing." I meant that the public - or at least the informed public who watch and listen to connected, truthful sources, such as yourself - should collectively make these decisions.
As for the acronyms, they are used in the same way the US military uses them. They have different names for different branches, yet a lot of people still just refer to them as the "army." I was going from memory of the changing names and also the definition on Wikipedia (which I loathe using, in most cases):
"The Syrian Arab Armed Forces (Arabic: القوات المسلحة العربية السورية, French: Forces armées syriennes) are the military forces of the Syrian Arab Republic. They consist of the Syrian Arab Army, Syrian Arab Navy, Syrian Arab Air Force, Syrian Arab Air Defense Force, and several paramilitary forces, such as the National Defence Force. According to the Syrian constitution, the President of Syria is the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces."
So, it appears that SAA is also a generalization. SAA simply refers to the Army (Syrian Arab Army). SAF is the acronym that I've seen used most to combine all of these forces into one - Syrian Armed Forces.
See how this can get confusing to the general public? Things are likely called different things in different places - and translations also have an effect on this. I was by no means implying you were doing any of this through your article. To be clear, is was referring to the MSM and social media doing this - not you - and trying to support your facts, which were great.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syrian_Armed_Forces
Great points! I'll keep them in mind. Thank you.