"Tell the First Division," he said, "move north. Go to Aleppo. Block the Turks."
The Minister of Defense was stunned. "Mr. President, the First Division—"
"What's wrong with the First Division? The First Division is Syrian troops. Syrian troops must defend Syrian territory. The Turks are coming, if they don't block them, who will?"
The Minister of Defense lowered his head. "The soldiers of the First Division—they say they don't want to fight. They say that in all the fighting, it's Syrians who die. The Turks come, the Turks go, they are still here. They don't want to fight for Assad anymore."
