In-depth
Alex Rowell of NOW Lebanon asks what happens now that the Syrian president has lost key members of his inner circle.
Andrew Tabler, senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, believes that the regime itself may outlive its current president. “Assad is finished, but I don’t know what ‘finished’ will look like or how long it will take; he might be finished, but the regime might not be. In terms of the end of the regime’s grip all over Syria, yes, that’s come to an end, but in terms of it existing on this planet, that could continue for a while over a smaller geographic area.”
With Syria imploding, is Hezbollah next?
Hezbollah devotion to Assad’s regime – running contrary to the spirit of the Arab Spring – is harming its image in Lebanon, writes Benedetta Berti in Christian Science Monitor,
Hezbollah’s unwavering loyalty to the brutal Assad regime places it on the wrong side of history – costing it support and exacerbating sectarian and political divisions in Lebanon. This is confirmed in my conversations with people in Lebanon and the region, and in the Lebanese and Middle Eastern media.
Daily Digest
Times of Israel: Mossad reportedly fears Iranian attack on Israeli athletes at Olympics
Haaretz: Feud between top diplomats leaves Israel’s embassy in U.S. in turmoil
Jerusalem Post: IOC: No moment of silence for 1972 Munich killing
Ynet: Bulgaria dismisses claim of responsibility for terror attack
New York Times: Stymied at U.N., U.S. Refines Plan to Remove Assad
Washington Post: In Iran, fashion police target women who test nation’s strict dress code
Wall Street Journal: Syria Revolt Reaches Aleppo
