Yesterday, I wrote about the defection of Major General Abdul-Aziz Jassem al-Shallal, the head of Assad's military police in Syria. I pointed out that the defection of such a high officer to the rebels would be super-important if he were an Alawaite. Well, 24 hours later the press has still not reported on the ethnic background of the general. Nevertheless, it does appear from some comments in the New York Times that the general is a Sunni. In other words, the defection is a blow to Assad, but not one that he cannot withstand.
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