Ms. Anne Barnard and her inside story about `Alawites

I forgot to add this yesterday to my comment about the story by Anne Barnard about an impending uprising by Alawites against Bashsar (presumably to join the cause of organizations that publicly called for their extermination).  She has solid sources here: "Current and former American officials say that at least three people from the heart of the Syrian system — senior Alawite officials or their relatives."  How could this pass anyone who took an introductory class in journalism. But wait: I said yesterday that she only cited one "prominent Alawite" (an analyst with Carnegie Endowment for International War). She cited fwo `Alawites by name in fact. Here is the second `Alawite cited: "Frederic C. Hof, who handled Syria policy for the Obama administration until 2012, said another Alawite central to the state apparatus had described to him the “misery” of a community...."  I swear. Ms. Barnard has earned the right to receive the Nicholas Blanford-Robert Fisk award for foreign correspondents in the Middle East.