(Jerusalem Report) Ehud Ya'ari - Bashar al-Assad is perceived as politically condemned, a dead president walking, whose remaining time in office is loudly ticking away. In the past two weeks, there have been growing signs that Assad is beginning to lose his grip on Syria. The challenge is how to ease Assad out of power without causing Syria to collapse, and how to do away with the ruling Baath Party without inviting terror organizations to fill the vacuum, as happened in Iraq. The next moment of truth will probably come on Dec. 15, when the extension granted to Detlev Mehlis, the special investigator appointed by the UN to probe Hariri's murder, runs out. The chances are growing that one of those Syrians under investigation will open his mouth to save his own skin.
2005-11-25 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive