Report: Assad has assumed direct command of Syrian forces
Recent visitors say the 47-year-old president has taken over day-to-day leadership. They speak of a self-confident, combative president convinced he will ultimately win the conflict through military means.
“He is no longer a president who depends on his team and directs through his aides. This is a fundamental change in Assad’s thinking,” said a pro-Syrian Lebanese politician with close ties to Assad. “Now he is involved in directing the battle.”
The endgame may have changed too. “Nobody is now talking about the control of the regime over all of Syria, they talk about the ability of the regime to continue.”…
“The fighting nerve is steady. The Iranians and the Russians may have helped them. Their ability to manage daily and control the situation has improved.”
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Just like Hitler in his final days.
RickB on October 10, 2012 at 5:42 PM
Hitler did the same thing. I hope it turns out just as well for Assad.
RadClown on October 10, 2012 at 5:46 PM
Who knew that they taught military tactics in ophthalmology school.
Mark1971 on October 10, 2012 at 5:49 PM
Because eye doctors always make the best generals.
rbj on October 10, 2012 at 5:49 PM
So he ia like a Commander in Chief now ?
burrata on October 10, 2012 at 5:52 PM
the Moderate.
rob verdi on October 10, 2012 at 5:54 PM
Myopia
BobMbx on October 10, 2012 at 5:54 PM
Doesn’t take a military genius to defeat a bunch of ragtag rebels and al qaeda terrorists.
May they continue to kill each other for a hundred years.
Rebar on October 10, 2012 at 5:57 PM
A plastic surgeon playing field marshal? Sorta like an ar-tist playing Der Fuhrer. What could possibly go wrong?
Limerick on October 10, 2012 at 6:00 PM
The Syrian rebels are radical Muslims worse than Assad. What are we trying to prove? Tick off Russia & China just to put in power more Muslim Brotherhood and Salafist radicals like in Egypt and Libya? Tell O to stay the h out of the crazy muslim squabbles in Syria!
anotherJoe on October 10, 2012 at 6:01 PM
I was thinking the same exact thing. BTW Asad is a trained opthamologist and Hitler was an artist.
BoxHead1 on October 10, 2012 at 6:03 PM
Dood get a grip…the Salafists are going to come to power irrespective of Barry Sotero. Assad is doomed. You cannot kill everyone in your country and then HAVE A COUNTRY to rule.
One way or the other, he’s going…if not now, in a few years. So you can see Salafists in Damascus this year or in 2020, but more than likely you’re going to see them in Damascus.
JFKY on October 10, 2012 at 6:07 PM
FAILED artist/architect/Putschist……
JFKY on October 10, 2012 at 6:08 PM
Somehow I think I prefer Assad over the alternatives. He is a secularist which means there is likely more freedom of religion there than in some neighboring places.
Frankly I’m not so sure why we are supposed to be so against him. Because he’s a petty dictator? Well so are the Saudis and the Pakistanis and how many others around the world.
I really don’t get it.
theblackcommenter on October 10, 2012 at 6:10 PM
Again, the US didn’t start the Civil War….it’s a spontaneous and indigenous phenomena. Stability may be your goal, here, but that clocked stopped a year ago, so now the question becomes who takes Assad’s place, when, and can we influence the outcome in less then horrible directions.
JFKY on October 10, 2012 at 6:17 PM
He supports Hezbollah, which has been known to go to war with Israel. Of course, the Salafists want to wipe away Israel as well. So it’s pretty much a wash.
rbj on October 10, 2012 at 6:21 PM
So we’ve deployed combat troops to Jordan?
catmman on October 10, 2012 at 6:29 PM
Better the devil you know …
OldEnglish on October 10, 2012 at 6:39 PM
Bet he’s gonna lead from behind.
J.E. Dyer on October 10, 2012 at 6:52 PM
And a failure at military matters, which is something we should be very thankful for. Because if he’d strictly stuck to rallying the public – something he did in an evilly brilliant fashion – and had left the war to his generals, things would have been a lot uglier.
MelonCollie on October 10, 2012 at 7:45 PM
Well, assuming direct command did work out well for an Austrian “artist.”
What could possibly go wrong for a British-trained ophthalmologist?
Resist We Much on October 10, 2012 at 7:50 PM