Rumors have started that Syria generals have deposed Assad in a secret putsch and left him in place as a front. They reportedly struck as middle class and army support for Assad was fading fast as the economy kept sinking – a deterioration exacerbated by President Obama telling him ...

The military and intelligence cliques of Assad's inner circle are sharply divided among themselves over the handling of the Syrian uprising: One group calls for a letup and compromise, while the other threatens to resist any easing of the crackdown by force.

After shelling, tank assaults and siege left 100 protesters dead in the last 48 hours without quelling the unrest, Western intelligence sources believe the menace to the regime has careered too far for President Bashar Assad to hold it at bay - an assessment shared by Ankara. The protest is likely to keep on spreading and evolving into armed rebellion. Those sources estimate the uprising as already encompassing 6-7 million Syrians (out of a population of 26 million) and a third of its area.