"REFORMIST" ASSAD
12-year-old killed as Syrian forces seal city in military crackdown
West risks sending wrong signal on Assad
Mr Assad has also exploited the myth of the lonely reformer surrounded by hardliners. Perhaps because Syria is strategically important and plays a role in the significant conflicts in the region, including the standoff with Iran and the Arab-Israeli dispute, the myth has had much following abroad. Even now some officials in western capitals are wondering whether Mr Assad, a British-trained eye doctor married to a glamorous former investment banker, is in control, and whether he might want a different path.
Not kidding.