Growing schism in Syrian regime

Much speculation has been circulating recently about a growing rift within the Syrian regime. Leaked reports state that President Bashar al-Assad's brother-in-law Assif Shawkat, who is one of the regime's main figures, had been poisoned. While other reports allege tensions between the Syrian leader and his younger brother over the regime's brutal use of force.  Several observers have also pointed out that many of the pro-regime militias -- who are thought to be behind some of the most disgraceful massacres which were not approved by the government -- are spiraling out of control. Within the Syrian regime, a schism is appearing amongst al-Assad loyalists.  There are groups who would prefer the army to take a more hardline approach to the anti-Assad protesters, in what they consider to be a more effective way of dealing with the uprising. Many within these circles, are dissatisfied with what they see as President al-Assad's "lack of decisiveness."  They would prefer to enter into an open battle with the rebel movement, in order to eliminate it at any price. These groups are nostalgic for the era of Bashar's father, President Hafez al-Assad, who crushed a rebellion in Hama in the early 1980's by using as much force as possible without any concerns for humanitarian or ethical measures.  There are growing voices within the regime who want Syria to rule as it did under the brutal leadership of its former President, believing it to be the only way to put an end to the chaos. But these voice are not concerned with the humanitarian cost of such a swift solution.  For them, as long as a violent crackdown wipes out the opposition once and for all - or for the next 30 years at least - it is justified as it would keep the regime in power and put an end to the crisis which has already lasted 15 months. This scenario which has been circulating through the international press and media coverage, reflect that this part of the regime is clearly living in another era  -- as if they haven't head about the end of the Cold War. The world is now a very different place from that of the 80's.  If Hafez al-Assad was still alive today,  he would do just as his son has done, as the definition of  "national sovereignty" has been changed completely  more than once, so there is no more "internal issues" which could be isolated from what is happening in the world. Also any possible tensions taking place between Russia, the "heir" of the Soviet Union, and the United States, will not lead to a recurrence of the Cold War. When madness reaches such a level, it is very easy for the conflict to topple the sectarian alignment, making it easy to commit such brutal massacres, as long as these massacres serve the goals of those remaining in power, and retain the sectarian superiority. These goals are now being defended by the thugs, gangs and the sectarian militias which work independently of the regime itself. This dark prospect means that the crisis in Syria has entered a "live or die" stage, where there is no place for dialogue, national unity, peaceful coexistence nor the state's sovereignty, as each of the sides in this fight,  believes that a victory for one side means the end of the opposing one. Politically, these splits and disobedience mean that those who are relying on a change within the regime, will be faced by a change with a more extremist image, where the "tolerance" of Bashar al-Assad will be missed,  and those who are screaming in the streets saying "LEAVE", could find that it is the "moderate" wing of the regime that will leave, and the most brutal and extremist part will remain. On the political side too, this situation shows that the cycle of extremism and violence, which was launched by the regime, then transferred to the streets and the opposition, is now returning to the regime itself. The security-military choice failed to protect the regime, and will result in nothing but more failure, which will impose serious threats on the future of the regime, this time from within its ranks. --- The views expressed by the author do not necessarily represent or reflect the editorial policy of Arabstoday.