"Ford said Syrian President Bashar
al-Assad's mother, Anisa Makhlouf, has moved to the United Arab Emirates, while
al-Assad's sister Buhra, has been living in Dubai. In addition, Ford said
Syria's former foreign ministry spokesman, Jihad Makdissi, has fled to the
United States as a refugee. However, later Thursday, senior Obama administration
officials told CNN that Ford had misspoken on that count, and Makdissi is not in
the United States. The regime's core is weakening gradually, Ford said."
AMBASSADOR FORD: "The Syrian Government
does not tell the truth. They said there were armed gangs in Hama. Well, the
only weapon I saw was a slingshot."
