The recent events over the past week in Syria, particularly in Damascus, spell more bad news for President Bashar Assad, who is already facing a significantly ominous situation.
On Tuesday, Military Intelligence Chief Major General Aviv Kochavi spoke at the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, but was careful about assessing when Assad's regime may collapse.
Various commentators have already been proved wrong about this issue – several times – but for those who are watching from Washington, London and even Jerusalem, the situation unfolding in Syria underscores the fact that the violence between Assad's army and relatively large rebel forces point to a significant deterioration.
The Syrian president can feel the ground shaking under his feet. Nawah al-Fares, the Syrian ambassador in Iraq who recently defected, estimated that with his back against the wall, Assad would use chemical weapons against the rebels. The West sees this as a reasonable scenario. And despite the terrible repercussions such a move may have on other places, it is doubtful that Assad will refrain from taking that step if he comes to the conclusion that it is an effective maneuver. » | Amos Harel | Wednesday, July 18, 2012
