While Abu Sakkar, a Syrian rebel featured in a video tearing into the body of a Syrian army soldier and devouring his heart, isn't necessarily representative of the Syrian opposition, he does represent some of the ugliest aspects of civil war. The incident also raises questions about the future of the conflict in Syria and the parties that will be responsible for formulating the country's future.

In Iraq, there were multiple "Abu Sakkars" among the two different sects. The civil war that broke out between 2006 and 2007 produced a number of shocking scenes which, while perhaps not as terrifying as the most recent image to come out of the Syrian war, certainly contained all of the necessary elements to produce such an image.

Does this video of Abu Sakkar, who presents himself as a leader of the Farouk Brigades, harm the reputation of the Syrian opposition? Without a doubt, internal, regional and international reactions pointed to the awkward position that the Syrian opposition and armed factions — most notably the Free Syrian Army — were placed in as a result of this act of cannibalism.

Previously, the opposition had shared similarly terrifying scenes to prove the heinous behaviors adopted by regime elements against inhabitants of the cities experiencing unrest.