Out of the Shadow of Fear - A rare inside look at Syria, a land where the regime rules with a murderous impunity - Asne Seierstad

http://www.newsweek.com/2011/06/05/out-of-the-shadow-of-fear-in-syria.html

This is a rather long article examining the brutal regime in Syria and their methods to retain control. I've said before that I think Assad will survive this round of upheaval, unfortunately. But I think we need to keep this in perspective: none of the uprisings in Communist Europe succeeded the first time around either. Hungary in 1956, Czechoslovakia in 1968, etc. all failed but the people watched and learned for the next time. I'm not even saying it will be 10 years from now, maybe sooner. It just won't be the same form of protest and uprising that succeeds. All Assad is doing now is making it more difficult for himself to find refuge later.