25 March 2013: Yesterday's viral reports on Bashar al-Assad's assassination originated with Sunni Arab media.
Most are saying the event occurred during the evening of Saturday, 23 March when an Iranian bodyguard fired multiple shots.
Reports are that he is either dead or very seriously wounded and that he was taken to Shami Hospital in Damascus. Some Israeli media are confirming these reports, others are denying the reports are accurate.
It seems to boil down to Assad's enemies claiming he's dead or seriously wounded, and his allies are saying these rumors are not true.
This may be a disinformation campaign ahead of a Sunni rebel offensive intended to demoralize his army because Bashar al-Assad and his regime is the bottom line of what they are fighting to defend.
I tend to believe this is disinformation that is designed to offset serious problems with the rebel factions. I do not believe the US-backed FSA leader Moaz Khatib would have resigned yesterday were the Assad assassination or serious wounding true.
Most are saying the event occurred during the evening of Saturday, 23 March when an Iranian bodyguard fired multiple shots.
Reports are that he is either dead or very seriously wounded and that he was taken to Shami Hospital in Damascus. Some Israeli media are confirming these reports, others are denying the reports are accurate.
It seems to boil down to Assad's enemies claiming he's dead or seriously wounded, and his allies are saying these rumors are not true.
This may be a disinformation campaign ahead of a Sunni rebel offensive intended to demoralize his army because Bashar al-Assad and his regime is the bottom line of what they are fighting to defend.
I tend to believe this is disinformation that is designed to offset serious problems with the rebel factions. I do not believe the US-backed FSA leader Moaz Khatib would have resigned yesterday were the Assad assassination or serious wounding true.
Similarly, the Lebanese government under the Hezbollah-puppet Najib Mikati might not have collapsed this weekend either.
One thing I am reasonably sure of is that the entire situation in both Syria and in Lebanon is in the process of literally disintegrating and turning into uncontrollable chaos. Without some type of foreign intervention or stabilizing factor there is an unprecedented catastrophe in the making at the present time.
