The CIA thinks Bashar al-Assad isn't going anywhere

Despite major defections and an increasing tough and brutal resistance, intelligence officials in the United States say that Syria's government is unlikely to fall anytime soon. A report from Reuters quotes members of the intelligence community who say that Bashar al-Assad's inner circle is showing no signs of cracking, and without a wide international consensus to intervene militarily — a consensus that does not exist — the ongoing conflict has no end in sight. 

 

Officials also describe the war as a "see-saw" battle with rebel forces gaining strength and improving tactics, only to see the military escalate the size and intensity of it own response, with neither side maintaining a decisive edge. 

Read more at The Atlantic Wire.