Defections

When someone defects from the Syrian regime at this stage, what is he/she trying to say?  That he/she has approved of all the deeds and crimes and repression of the regime but that the events of the last week or last months changed his mind?  That prior to this week or this months, all was well?  The hypocrisy of the defector and of those who receive him/her in the opposition with open arms is vast.