Is Syria's Assad Going To Fight To The Bitter End?

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad meets General Fahad Jassim al-Freij (R), after his swearing-in as Defence Minister in Damascus, in this handout photo distributed by Syrian News Agency (SANA) July 19, 2012. Syria's state TV said on Thursday new Defence Minister General al-Freij took his oath of office in front of President Bashar al-Assad, who has not appeared in public since a bomb attack killed three of his top security officials. REUTERS/SANA/Handout

For Besieged Syrian Dictator Assad, Only Exit May Be Body Bag -- Joby Warrick and Anne Gearan, Washington Post

Even with rebel armies closing in, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is showing no hint of a willingness to cede power, raising the prospect of a long, bloody and potentially calamitous final chapter to the country’s civil war, U.S. officials and Middle East experts say.

As his troops battle rebels in Aleppo and other key cities, Assad has rejected new entreaties to accept exile for himself and his family and has repeatedly expressed confidence that loyalist forces will prevail, the officials and analysts said.

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My Comment: He is an educated man .... he must be aware of what is happening around him, especially after the death of his brother-in-law in a bombing attack a few weeks ago. My guess is that since many of his military/political supporters are still with him, out of loyalty he will keep up the fight. But if defections continue to rise .... this stance may quickly change.