President Bashar al-Assad of Syria, right, stood behind his brother Maher at the funeral of their father, Hafez, in 2000. Khaled al-Hariri/ReutersAssad Brother Plays Big Role In Syria -- New York Times
As reports mount of defections in the Syrian military and the government staggers from the killing of soldiers and police officers in a northern city this week, President Bashar al-Assad may turn increasingly to his brother, Maher, whose elite units in a demoralized army could prove decisive to his government’s survival, activists and analysts say.
Maher al-Assad heads the Syrian Army’s elite Fourth Division and Republican Guard, while wielding great influence in Syria’s powerful intelligence services, analysts say. In the nearly three-month uprising, he has emerged as a lightning rod of dissent over his perceived role in the ferocious crackdown that has led to the deaths of 1,300 people, by activists’ count, and the arrests of more than 10,000.
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My Comment: Like the Castro brothers, the Assad family have overstayed their welcome, and it is time for them to leave. Unfortunately .... they do not want to leave.