Syrian fighters hoping for a change in U.S. policy

• In the absence of a U.S.-enforced no-fly zone, more rebels turn to foreign jihadists for assistance
• Syria is entering its 20th month of war in which largely Sunni Muslims have risen up to oust Assad
• Some on the ground say they hope Mitt Romney wins the presidential election because they believe he will be more likely to help them militarily

NORTHWESTERN SYRIA -- Syrians trying to topple the regime of Bashar Assad say they are sick of the Obama administration's unfulfilled promises of help and don't agree with the president that the dictatorship will be toppled without weapons from the United States.

Many rebels here complain that not even the non-lethal communications equipment promised by U.S. Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton showed up, and they wonder why the United States so readily supported a no-fly zone in Libya yet will not provide one in Syria.

President Obama has said providing weapons to the rebels would make matters worse, but the rebels say that if America does not come to their aid, then Syria will become an even worse enemy to the United States.

"All Syria will be al-Qaeda if the U.S. doesn't help us," said Ahmed Hajj Mohammed, 35, an English teacher from a village in Idlib province who spoke while sitting on his rooftop in the sunset.

Syria is entering the 20th month of war in which largely Sunni Muslims have risen up to oust Assad, whose family has ruled this country for decades. Assad unleashed his military against villages and whole city blocks to crush the rebellion, bombing indiscriminately from the air in a campaign that has killed 30,000 civilians, according to the United Nations.

The war also has driven Assad closer into the orbit of Iran and Russia, which have been his most important suppliers of weapons, money and oil.

Meanwhile, al-Qaeda terrorists from outside the country have infiltrated the fight and are blamed for the suicide bombings that have been on the rise, according to the Syrian National Council, a dissident group of anti-Assad Syrians.

Abu Ahmed, a commander in the Free Syrian Army, a group of deserters from Assad's military and others, is fighting in Salma, a small town outside Latakia. Every day, the remaining residents here brace themselves for barrel bombs that the Syrian military drops from helicopters, blowing up apartment buildings and homes.

Assad's military has had difficulty holding terrain against FSA attacks, so it has relied on an air war in which is flies unchallenged to pummel rebel positions and havens with powerful bombs. Ahmed said he believes an intensive 48-hour air campaign by the United States would cripple Assad's ability to control the skies, and the rebels would then be able to rout Assad's forces on the ground.

None of the rebel fighters expressed any interest in having U.S. soldiers come to their aid. But in the absence of a U.S.-enforced no-fly zone, more rebel units are turning to the foreign jihadists for assistance.

"Of course, Chechens, Afghans, other foreigners come to fight against Bashar. We will take all the help we can get," he said.

On Friday, Syrians took to the streets for the largest anti-regime protests in months in several cities, taking advantage of a lull in fighting as a cease-fire took effect at the start of a Muslim holiday.

But there was still scattered violence including battles over the northern military base of Maaret al-Numan, and five people were killed in government shelling and sniper fire in the Damascus suburb of Harasta, activists said. Fighting also was reported in other parts of the country.

A deep cynicism pervades Syrian thinking on the United States. Several rebels who would talk say they see Israel as the sole beneficiary of U.S. might in the Middle East and Arab nations are largely left to fend for themselves.

They refuse to abandon appeals to America, though, because they believe it is the only government powerful enough to stand up to Russia's veto on the U.N. Security Council, where they still hope for a resolution approving military action against Assad.

Some here also hope that Obama will lose next month's presidential election in the belief that Republican Mitt Romney may be more likely to help them militarily.

"Syrian people like Romney better because he promised to provide anti-aircraft weapons," said Hisham, 24, a physical therapy student whose studies in Homs were interrupted by the war. "Romney is stronger than Obama -- he is a man."

"Obama is sleeping," said an electrical engineer from Latakia province who, like many Syrians living close to the front lines, asked that their names not be used for fear of reprisal from Assad's regime. "Romney made promises about giving Syrians anti-aircraft missiles.

The USA talks a lot about human rights, he said, "but they do very little."

Rifaat Selo, a student at Damascus University before it closed due to the war, estimated that while pro-rebel Syrians are angry at Obama for not providing them with anti-aircraft missiles to stop the air war, most still want Obama to win.

"Sixty percent understand that the Republican Party always makes promises to Arab people, but they don't keep them," he said.

Hisham disagrees.

"How long is it until the U.S. elections, two weeks?" Hisham asked. "By that time, another 2,000 Syrians will be dead."