IS SYRIA'S ASSAD NEXT TO FALL? 25 Mar 2011 The regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has long been considered among the region's most stable. But a growing uprising, along with the government's aggressive crackdown on demonstrators yesterday, have many wondering if the Assad family's decades-old grip on power might finally be breaking. A Washington Post report this morning called the demonstrations "the most serious unrest" of Assad's 11-year tenure. (His father, Hafez, ruled the country for 29 years before him.) The Post cited a pre-dawn raid on the southern city of Daraa by Syrian security forces "in which dozens of people were killed, according to witnesses and activists." On Friday, Syrian security forces reportedly opened fire on the protesters in the town of Sanamein, killing 20 people. "There are more than 20 martyrs...they (security forces) opened fire haphazardly," a witness told Al Jazeera. Hundreds were also demonstrating in the centre of the Syrian capital Damascus. Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman noted that "we hope that the policy seen towards Libya today will be implemented towards Iran and Syria where dozens of people opposing the opposition are murdered daily. Standing up for your principles can't be selective." http://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/trend-lines/8309/is-syrias-assad-next-to-fall Syrian govt firing on its own people, Syrian cities are in open rebellion. Will NATO/USA intervene? Israeli Foreign minister is calling on USA to treat Syria like Libya. Syrian army is 400k strong, Libya only 25k.