A week ago FSA sources suggested we’d see the biggest defection yet within days. Is this it?
Ruthers says Colonel Yarub Shara was head of the Damascus branch of Political Security, an intelligence organization responsible for monitoring and suppressing dissent.
It’s not just what the colonel can reveal about the inner workings of the regime but questions he will be asked, some of which could be explosive iin Iran:
Who proposed what when it came to cracking down?
To what extent, if any did Iran’s Al Quds leader play in the decision?
What role is Iran playing now?
Is the claim of 3,000 Iranian snipers coming to reinforce Assad’s militia in Baghdad merely propaganda?
Were the recently captured Iranian “pilgrims” really pilgrims or Al Quds as the FSA claims.
If so, who tipped them off? The Colonel?
Was the colonel involved in the Big Bombing in Damascus?
Who else in the regime is helping the resistance?
Is Assad planning a final holdput in Latakia where supposedly Sunnis are being cleansed?
POTENTIAL PSYCHOLOGICAL IMPACT IN SYRIA:
1. If Assad can’t trust the man in charge of Damascus security, who can he trust?
2. Will this defection scare other major insiders into defection?
3. What effect will it have on Iran’s footsoldiers, pro-Iranian civilians and anyone wavering?
4. How much of a boost will it give to FSA morale?
5. How much demoralization will it add to an already demoralized Syrian army tired of playing the roile of Serbian extremists in Bosnia?
