The Syrian Army

Unsurprisingly, my confidential Syrian source tells me that it is a joke: that it is "ill-equipped and unemployed for a long time.  And corruption penetrate security [services] and all apparatuses of the state.  There are no strong men in the Army, only Mafias revolving around in the atmosphere of corruption.  And Mahir Al-Asad is the facade.  Mahir is an idiot and empty and does not know how to talk with others.  [He mentioned the incident when Mahir shot at Asaf Shawkat, his brother-in-law].  [He also tells me about Muhammad Qasim, who is deputy commander of the Presidential Guard, but is the actual commander.  He is a corrupt man who has no direct link to Bashshar.]  The state and its apparatuses are completely out of order.  No strong men except the men of corruption.  What postpones everything is that Shaykh Muhammad Sa`id Al-Buti runs Damascus, and Mufti of the republic, Ahmad Hassun controls Aleppo.  All is postponed until Libya falls.  And God is all-knowing."