In a severe low to the regime’s inner circle, Assad lost four of his top lieutenants, including his brother-in-law. He also lost the all-important sense of invulnerability.
alawite
Syrian Defense Minister Killed as Rebels Strike at the Heart of Power
The fighting in Damascus is not quite an indication that the Assad government is about to fall. But it is a sign of how balkanized Syria is—and is likely to be.
Must-Reads from Around the World, July 6, 2012
Among today’s stories: a rumored Syrian defection, hardline rhetoric in China’s Xinjiang province and Mumbai slum dwellers use film to fight evictions.
Russia Sets Out Tough Terms for Resolving Syria’s ‘Civil War’
By sending Assad gunships and insisting Iran be included in talks, Moscow is signaling a changed geopolitical balance
Damascus Blasts: Are Terrorists the Wild Card in Syria’s Power Struggle?
The twin suicide car bombings that reportedly killed 55 people and wounded 372 in Damascus on Thursday prompted a familiar set of responses: state television blamed unspecified “terrorists” for the atrocity, in keeping with its …
As Assad ‘Accepts’ Peace Plan, Can Syria Reset its Rebellion?
Three sets of meetings in different capitals on Tuesday offer a bleak reminder that Syria’s uprising against President Bashar al-Assad faces something of a do-over. Syrian opposition figures are gathered in Istanbul at the behest …
Why a U.N. Syria Peace Plan Poses a Challenge to Rebels
The Kofi Annan peace plan unanimously endorsed Wednesday by the U.N. Security Council may pose an even greater dilemma for the Syrian opposition than it does for the regime of President Bashar al-Assad. That’s because while it …
As Kofi Annan Arrives to Mediate, Syria’s Assad Regime is Far From Beaten
The defection of Syria’s deputy oil minister to the country’s year-old rebellion briefly captured headlines on Thursday, hailed in the West as a hopeful sign that the regime of President Bashar al-Assad may be starting to …
Eyewitness from Homs: An Alawite Refugee Warns of Sectarian War in Syria
Up until a few months ago, Hassan Ali, a 29-year old fabric merchant in the Syrian city of Homs, rarely gave politics much thought. His life was pretty good under the reign of President Bashar Assad, and he saw no reason to rock …
The U.S. and Other ‘Friends of Syria’ Still Search for a Strategy to Oust Assad
“It is time we gave them the wherewithal to fight back and stop the slaughter,” said Senator John McCain on Monday, referring to Syria’s opposition amid the carnage being wrought by the Assad regime’s efforts to quash a year-old …
Peacekeepers for Syria? Not While There’s No Peace to Keep
As Arab and Western diplomats work to fashion tools to pressure the Syrian regime to end its military response to a year-old rebellion, an unrelenting artillery exacts a terrible daily toll on the residents of rebel-held Sunni …
In Syria, Chaos, Confusion and Death
A bloody crackdown on protests in Syria has taken place under an intense media blackout, with foreign journalists barred from the country and struggling to piece together unsubstantiated reports of mass arrests and shootings. The global think tank STRATFOR offers this “Raw Intelligence Report,” a dispatch presumably from a foreigner …