r center of unrest; it was shelled by the Syrian Navy in mid-August. Aleppo, Syria's second-largest city has also seen significant demonstrations. If anti-Assad insurgents take up arms, the chemical sites, as symbols of regime's authority, could become strategic targets. And, if mass defections occur from the

ening his grip on power; it may be that the secret police, long given too much leeway, have been taking matters into their own hands. What's more, anti-Assad elements should be careful what they wish for. Syria is ethnically and religiously diverse and, with the SONY_GM_00078426 JPM-SDNY-00001553 EFTA_

ening his grip on power; it may be that the secret police, long given too much leeway, have been taking matters into their own hands. What's more, anti-Assad elements should be careful what they wish for. Syria is ethnically and religiously diverse and, with the precipitous removal of central authority, i

n affliction from infecting his county — Lebanon is increasingly getting sucked into the intra-Syrian conflict. In addition to the assassination of anti-Assad Lebanese politicians and journalists and the abductions of a score of Lebanon-based Assad opponents, Syrian security forces have regularly staged i