Members of Free Syrian Army, under the name of Farouq Brigades, attend a daily training at Sarmada near Idlib province July 9, 2012. Photo by Reuters
Pressure Valve Off In al-Assad's Syria -- Fareed Zakaria, CNN
Over the past sixteen months of bloody conflict in Syria, observers have been waiting for one key development: top-level defections from within President Bashar al-Assad's inner circle. Suddenly, it seems a pressure valve has gone off. Pilots, ambassadors, and even one general have defected. What does it mean?
The general is Manaf Tlas, a childhood friend of Assad, and an officer in the elite Republican Guard.
Tlas’s father was chief of staff and then minister of defense, for 30 years, under Bashar’s father Hafez al-Assad. This is as close to the top of the Syrian regime as you might get. That’s why Secretary of State Hillary Clinton took special note of Tlas.
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Commentaries, Opinions, And Editorials
The breaking point in Syria -- Washington Post editorial
Syria's detached and deluded elite? -- Fareed Zakaria, CNN
Misreading Iran at our peril: Radicals still seeking nukes -- Ilan Berman, Washington Times
Analysis: U.N.'s Iran atom probe "hostage" to big power diplomacy -- Fredrik Dahl, Reuters
The Sources of Iranian Conduct -- Sohrab Ahmari, The American Interest
The Egyptian mess -- Aaron David Miller, L.A. Times
Our high-maintenance relationship with Pakistan -- David Ignatius, Washington Post
A proper pivot toward Asia -- Washington Post editorial
For Tibetans, no other way to protest -- Lobsang Sangay, Washington Post
Ethnic Cleansing in Myanmar -- Moshahida Sultana Ritu, New York Times
Islamist Generation: Today’s Muslim youth are less Westernized than their parents were. -- Mark Steyn, NRO
How should liberal democracies deal with China and Russia? -- Michael Ignatieff, Reuters
Echo of an Impending War -- Sergei Karaganov, Russia in Global Affairs
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