SYRIA NEXT?/updates say yes!
Yes, insistes Radwan Ziadeh,a Syrian scholar visiting at the moment in GWU. That does not mean she does not make some valuable arguments. Most importantly, she challenges the idea that Syria military's loyalty to Assad seen as airtight
The final reason why the Syrian regime may be prevented from using extreme violence or even massacring Daraa as it did in Hama in 1982, is that three out of the 10 leaders of the Syrian Army divisions are from Daraa. The Syrian regime is fully aware of a possible division among the Syrian army and of what the consequences of that would be.
Well, I hope so. The latest sign of ferment, a deadly attempt to break out of prison.
The regime is not standing idly by but is busy giving out for key constituencies;
First and foremost, ISLAMISTS
Syria reverses ban on Islamic veil, closes casino
Second, Kurds,
Syria To Grant Citizenship To Kurds
NYT reports:
Security forces countered a rising tide of unrest in Syria on Friday with tear gas, batons and live ammunition as more than 10,000 protesters took to the streets of several cities in a third week of protests against the government of President Bashar al-Assad, according to witnesses and activists reached by telephone.
In the southern city of Dara’a, chants of “Peaceful, peaceful!” rose through clouds of tear gas as security forces on a central bridge tried to keep two groups of thousands of protesters from joining together, a resident said, speaking in return for anonymity to avoid reprisals.
Security forces then opened fire on the protesters, killing “more than 10,” according to the resident, who spoke by telephone. “There are martyrs in the street,” he said frantically before his line went dead. Syrian state television confirmed several deaths but said “rogue elements” within the protest had fired on security forces, Bloomberg News reported.
In the Damascus suburb of Douma, thousands filled a main square, ringing a central mosque. “The crowds in Douma are huge,” said Wissam Tarif, executive director of Insan, a Syrian human rights group, who was in the town early Friday morning. The latest demonstrations came a week after at least 15 protesters died in clashes with security forces in Douma; security forces appeared to hold back on Friday. Protest organizers had called for demonstrations against Mr. Assad’s administration in several provinces in what they dubbed a “Friday of Steadfastness.”
And the Kurds are joining in