. >> how is president bashar al-assad holding on to power? >> the iranians are gaining influence in syria now by the day. >> and what will happen if asd falls? >> there is definitely increasing worry in the united states administration about in whose hands these weapons are falling. >> these two stories on this special edition frontline. >> frontline is made possible by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. and by the corporation for public broadcasting. major funding is provided by the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation, committed to building a more just, verdant and peaceful world. and by reva and david logan, committed to investigative journalism as the guardian of the public interest. addition funng is oved by the park foundation, dedicated to heightening public awareness of critical issues. and by tfrontline journalism fund, supporting investigative reporting and enterprise journalism. >> narrator: guardian reporter ghaith abdul-ahad's journey into syria began five weeks ago on a supply route the

we wouldn't refer to bashar assad as a reformer when he's killing his own civilians with his russian-provided weapons.

these are countries and capitals that on the one hand are so quick to blame the syrian president bashar assad but are very slow to take action when you have a crisis like it's like what is happening in bahrain while. my colleague kevin i spoke to a member of libya's ruling general national congress and he also mahomet's fire how the government justifies the deaths of the civilian population and bani walid. for you. and your colleagues. you would have to take the full picture we are taking care of the family every single family. been taking out of been awarded houses and everyone we've spoken to. them we've spoken to families at least two families and they're saying that is not the case there is an intense amount of pressure there still. well you see where the government forces attacking a place where there are outlaws hided of course it won't be easy it's like a thirty second operation there will be some small mistakes but the whole picture of the whole thing is being. perfectly we are taking care of all the family all the all the really all the women houses are ready for them food everything

lebanese city of tripoli this between two neighborhoods one that supports the syrian president bashar assad and another that supports the opposition and the other day and continuing until now we have seen armed gunmen from both sides patrolling the streets and this has stoked fears of an increase in sectarian tensions events in syria have brought to the fore the sectarian lines that lebanese suffer from it's brought to the for both their allegiances and tensions you have essentially the march eighth bloc that is led by hizbullah that supports the syrian president bashar assad backing it out with the march the fourteenth movement that is seen as western backed it's also a movement that supports the syrian opposition ever since the assassination in two thousand and five of the former prime minister rafik hariri these two forces have been coming to the fore and we see that happening again now over the assassination back on friday obvious high ranking lebanese intelligence officer but what people tend to forget is that it is not in syria's interest to have been involved in this attack on friday

lebanese city of tripoli this between two neighborhoods one that supports the syrian president bashar assad and another that supports the opposition and the other day and continuing until now we have seen armed gunmen from both sides patrolling the streets and this has stoked fears of an increase in sectarian tensions so there's a lot of concern that the situation could disintegrate we're looking at a situation that has seen five people killed since friday at the same time the former lebanese prime minister saad hariri has called for both prime minister and the government to step down also if you will some time there has been concern that the situation in syria will spill over into may bring lebanon and so what we've seen is that events in syria have brought to the fore a very deep sectarian lines that lebanese suffer from you have essentially the march bloc that is led by hezbollah that supports the syrian president bashar assad backing it out with the march the fourteenth movement that is seen as western backed it's also a movement that supports the syrian opposition but what people tend

lebanese city of tripoli this between two neighborhoods one that supports the syrian president bashar assad and another that supports the opposition and the other day and continuing until now we have seen armed gunmen on both sides patrolling the streets and this has stoked fears of an increase in sectarian tensions now the army there has taken up a very visible presence in tripoli's and worth square they're also concerned about a city that has been staged since sunday in front of the prime minister's residence so there's a lot of concern that the situation could disintegrate we're looking at a situation that has seen five people killed since for a day at the same time the former lebanese prime minister saad hariri has called for both prime minister and the government to step down the army too has issued a statement saying that it intends to restore peace and order but the question remains whether indeed a king can do this and for how long and why is syria being blamed for the killing of general. well certainly for some time there has been concern that the situation in syria will spill over

>>trace: we worry about bashar al-assad leafing but now it appears bashar al-assad is the greater of all evils. thank you, sir. >> if defense contractors send out thousands of letters saying they will have to cut jobs it will not look good for the obama administration so the white house trying to prevent the letters from going out. republicans are up in arms. what it has to do with the so-called "fiscal cliff" is next. three weeks after the murders of the united states ambassador and three other americans, the f.b.i. makes a quick visit to the scene of the crime. the latest on that investigation. hmm, it says here that cheerios helps lower cholesterol as part of a heart healthy diet. that's true. ...but you still have to go to the gym. ♪ the one and only, cheerios ...bone is for a clean,o go wedomestic energy future that puts us in control. our abundant natural gas is already saving us money, producing cleaner electricity, putting us to work here in america and supporting wind and solar. though all energy development comes with some risk, we're committed to safely and responsibly pro

we should not have called bashar assad a reformer.nd we should not have -- >> what's your criteria? >> we should not have waited for russia to give us the green light at the u.n. to do something about it. they're still arming the man. iran is flying flights over iraq to help -- >> and the opposition is being armed. >> to help bashar assad. and by the way, if we had the status of forces agreement that the vice president said he would bet his vice presidency on in iraq, we probably would have been able to prevent that. he failed to achieve that as well. >> let me ask you quickly. what's your criteria for intervention? >> yeah. >> in syria? >> worldwide. >> what is in the national interest of the american people. >> how about humanitarian interests? >> what is the national security of the american people? it has to be in the strategic national interests of our country. >> no humanitarian? >> each situation will come up with its own set of circumstances, but putting american troops on the ground, that's got to be within the national secur

essentially the march eighth bloc that is led by hizbullah that supports the syrian president bashar assad backing it out with the march the fourteenth movement that is seen as western backed it's also a movement that supports the syrian opposition ever since the assassination in two thousand and five of the former prime minister rafik hariri these two forces have been coming to the fore and we see that happening again now over the assassination back on finding of this high ranking lebanese intelligence officer but what people tend to forget is that it is not in syria's interest to have been involved in this attack on friday you also need to remember that on sunday there was a suicide bombing in damascus itself that lift some thirteen people killed so what we're hearing is more more voices saying that this attempted blaming syria is merely a detraction from who the real culprits are and it is an attempt and essentially just provoking the situation people saying that not since we're figuring he was assassinated more than seven years ago has there been such real concern on the ground here in

that bought bashar assad time.ve russia veto power over our efforts through the u.n., and, meanwhile, about 30,000 syrians are dead. >> what would my friend do differently? have you noticed he never answers the question. >> we would not be going through the u.n. in all of these things. >> you don't go through the u.n. we are in the process now and have been for months in making sure that help, humanitarian aid as well as other aid and training is getting to those forces that we believe the saudis believe. that is underway. our allies are all on the same page. nato as well as our arab allies. in terms of trying to get a settlement. we are the ones that said enough. with regard to the reset not working, the fact of the matter is that russia has a different interest in syria than we do, and that's not in our interest. >> what happens if assad does not fall? congressman ryan? what happens to the region? what happens if he hangs on? what happens if he does? >> then iran keeps their greatest ally in the region. he is a s

and that bought bashar assad time.m veto power and 30,000 syrians are dead. >> what would my friend do differently? you notice, he never answers the question. >> we wouldn't be go through all of the u.n. and all of these things. >> we don't go through the u.n. we are in the process now and have been for months in making sure that help, humanitarian aid, as well as other aid and training is getting to those forces that we believe the turks believe, the jordanians believe, the saudis believe, are the free forces inside of syria. that's under way. allies all on the same page. nato as well as our arab allies. in terms of trying to get a settlement. that was their idea. we were the ones that said enough. with regard to the reset not working, the fact of the matter is that russia has a different interest in syria than we do, and that's not in our interest. >> what happens if assad does not fall? congressman ryan? what happens to the region? what happens if he hangs on? >> then iran keeps their greatest ally in the region. a

people had high hopes just like bashar al-assad. where did that person go and that is one of the saddest things about them because they really did -- they really did develop a level of popularity in the country that wasn't insignificant. syria's difficult to engage popularity because sometimes people will, out in support of bashar al-assad in the government because they don't want to be seen as nonsupportive of non-supportive of the government because security is all around so it's difficult to see how genuine the popularity is but having been in the country quite a bit and gone around all over the country and talk to all sorts of classes of people, i really did think there was genuine popularity and for me he didn't leverage that popularity to implement true change that was really needed particularly at the beginning of the uprising. >> what did he talk to you about? >> you talked about -- he talked about his upbringing and we talked about many different aspects of his life, his upbringing which was fairly normal considering he was

extremely expensive weapons which they then use against the troops of president bashar al assad's even the groups the secular opposition groups within syria itself are saying that they simply cannot afford to buy the same type of arms which are being used by the radicals neither do they can they afford the cameras which are being used by these radical groups such as the free syrian army who are then using it to broadcast their accomplishments or failures on you tube and the like of course the united states administration at this point is concerned that the arms are ending up in the hands of the extremist groups because they fear that may mean in the future that these groups will turn into insurgencies which then will retaliate against the united states of course there are also other diplomats within the middle eastern circuits who are saying that at this point a lot of people are being frustrated with the syrian opposition who have proven that they unfortunately cannot unite over one plan according to the same name diplomats who has been cited by various media sources they have come to

assad. weapons have yet to topple the government of president bashar al assad but they're flowing into the country with ease it's a trend that has some officials worried those will provide arms to either side only a contributing to for the me jury and the risk of an intended consequence is porous borders with its neighbors make the flow of arms almost impossible to stop and lebanon's town of is one of the may. gateway's behind me is the way to one of the illegal border crossings between lebanon and syria weapons fighters and supplies go in to syria while refugees fleeing the violence come out but by no means as safe or easy journey frequent shelling as well as a large minefield on the syrian side of the border crossings like these a deadly gamble a gamble that lebanese sympathizers of syria's opposition are more than willing to make. this is five thousand dollars this is thirteen hundred eighteen hundred and two thousand in tripoli r.t. spoke to this arms dealer whose business was booming. people come or contact me every day we have a revolution next door for sure we are with them will help them t

going there there are it's a very confusing situation but let me just remind you what president bashar al assad said a few months ago when things started going really bad and he said that he would be willing to. set fire to the entire region i don't know these were his exact words but it was more or less along those lines that he would destabilize the whole region and so this could very well be along the lines of what he had said the other thing is gareth just said the cessation of a a government official this is more than just a government official this is this is the assassination of the head of the intelligence services. it is very serious when you're sensing someone of that stature you're you're you're demining you're taking a part of the structure of the state so i think it's a it's not just a minister of state or a politician that's been skilled it's someone who is very important in imagine in the united states if they killed the head of the cia or in russia. with the security forces there that. if they killed those people this is this is what we're dealing with today you're you're you're

after international pressure, then president obama said bashar assad should go.s been over a year. the man has slaughtered tens of thousands of his own people, and more foreign fighters are spilling into this country, so the longer this has gone on, the more people -- groups like al qaeda are going in. we could have more easily identified a free syrian army, freedom fighters, working with alice, the turks, the qataris, the saudis, had we had a better plan in place working with our allies. but, no, we waited for kofi annan to come up with an agreement with the u.n. that bought bashar al assad time. we gave russia veto power over our efforts through the u.n. and meanwhile about 30,000 syrians are dead. >> what would my friend do differently? you notice, he never answers the question. >> we wouldn't be go through all of the u.n. and all of these things. >> we don't go through the u.n. we are in the process now and have been for months in making sure that help, humanitarian aid as well as other aid and training is getting to those forces that we believe, the turks be

president bashar assad to step down and his sentiments were echoed by britain and by france just as the u.s. he says stood by supported and helped liberate the people in libya he would like to see this seeing thing done in syria but on the other hand you have many other countries such as russia china brazil and so on and so forth saying that there can't be any outside intervention into what's taking place in syria this is a crisis that needs to be decided and it between the parties between the syrian government and the opposition but as we've been reporting for the past. everybody's talking about the crisis in syria by not clear how to exactly solve it an international law professor said caroline signs that syrians would never inflict such vicious destruction on their homeland and be fine except for in fines are involved in their will runs against the un charter if we are to believe the report of the. b n d a most respectable european it's a german. intelligence service one of the most respectable program in the world who says that five percent only five percent of the oppositions are s

assad rally in the city center. it is organized by a local youth group. they call themselves "the stand firm volunteers." why do you support president bashar al-assad? >> he is a very, very good president and the world. >> but some people say you should step down. you should leave pow is absurdi. he will protect us. all people like bashar al-assad. >> but so many people of died in syria -- >> because of -- >> that is what you often hear. they defend the president'. they brandish photographs of him and his powerful brother who commands the elite republican guard. a the governor's office, too, photograph of assad and his late father on every wall. the intelligence service keeps a close eye on everything here. the governor is the president's man here. i asked him about the tight security. >> security is not sites here. the situation here is normal and safe. just like any country, the security services will intervene to protect the regime and the rule of law here. >> now the fighting has reached damascus and aleppo. do you worry fighting could come here? >> we're in the process of putting down these destructive gangs in damascus and aleppo. i am not worr

>>guest: it is destroying the typical theme of goodbye and bad guy because bashar al-assad is a moderatee fighting against him are fundamentalist so what is happening, bashar al-assad is an ally that supports both the shia elements and is supported by iran and he has been opposed by a block of sunni rebels and hundreds of small gang-like militias who do not have political or strategic structure. it is chaos. what we are seeing now is escalating into a higher legal of legal assassination. >>shepard: all this stuff is going on as the border with turkey that is concerning in the broad sense and we all know how easy it is to tip lebanon. it is a very difficult place, we call hezbollah a terrorist organization, but it is also a big part of the government there and in the southern part of lebanon without hezbollah there are no services. >>guest: keep in mind that turkey is facilitating the entry of supplies to the rebels you but at the same time reacting against a group that was lobbying shells into turkey. there is no real functioning government in many parts of syria and like libya has on di

ryan: to help bashar assad. and by the way, if we had the status of forces agreement that the vice president said he would bet his vice presidency on in iraq, we probably would have been able to prevent that, but he failed to achieve that as well. again. >> moderator: what's your criteria for intervention? biden: yeah. ryan: in syria? >> moderator: worldwide. ryan: what is in the national interests of the american people. it's got to be in the strategic national interests of our country. >> moderator: no humanitarian? ryan: each situation will come up with its own set of circumstances, but putting american troops on the ground, that's got to be within the national security interests of the american people. >> moderator: i want to -- we're almost out of time. ryan: things like embargoes and sanctions and overflights, those are things that don't put american troops on the ground. but if you're talking about putting american troops on the ground, only in our national security interest. >> moderator: i want to move

. >>> a high ranking sian ficial say president bashar assad welcomes in principal a cease-fire proposal. syria's deputy minister made the remarks on monday with nhk. he met with the united nations sunday in damascus. he called for a cease-fire between government and opposition forces starting on friday. the first day of the muslim holiday. deputy foreign minister attended the meeting. >> when he raised the issue yesterday in his meeting, the president said we welcome all these ideas but we should discuss them with the relevant parties. two or three days there will be a very clear position by the syrian leadership on this issue. >> he stressed the importance of a commitment by opposition forces to stop the violence. he also criticized saudi arabia and turkey for supporting an-government foes. he cled on t forces to stop armi ining and funding the opposition. >>> egypt's president promised to tackle problems that effect people's daily lives his first 100 days in office. now that he's passed that milestone egyptians are paying close attention and assessing his performance. we have more fro

i just want to ask you about bashar al-assad. do you think his time is up now? >> nobody knows exactly how it will go, but i suspect the regime will enable its own downfall by doing something stupid. >> by the nature of these authoritarian regimes, being very secretive about their power, it's difficult. to difficult >> you can not predict. you can imagine the pressure from that side, but you don't know whether there will be a palace coup, because you don't know who the advisers are. you cannot do that. ->> you. - people talk about arab exceptionalism. is there something peculiar about the arab strongman you don't see in other parts of the developing world that allows them to stay in power so long? >> i think it began with nasser. most places have a strong republican presidents. in the arab world they tried to reproduce themselves. i think that more of them begin to do that in the arab world. and they become very cl ubbish. >> they get tips from one another on how to stay in power. bashar al-assad has had one of the most successful regime this with his father han

but i'm very skeptical about bashar assad. could i just say another thing about it? if you and i were talking 16, 17, 18 months ago, i would have said by the way, there's going to be 34,000 people dead, killed, massacred, women raped, children in syria, you know, don't you think we ought to really do something to try and stop it and we would have agreed it's a horrible outcome for the people of syria, but it's like the frog in the pan, the boiling water. we become immune to this. it barely gets much attention in the media now and i got to tell you, i'm an emotional person. i almost cry when i think of the massacre that continues there and us, the united states of america, not even getting them arms and equipment with which to defend themselves. >> yeah. i totally agree with you. i think it's a shameful derel t dereliction of duty by many countries. finally, on benghazi, cnn has interviewed somebody who claims there was no original posting by the terror group on facebook or twitter which triggered the apparent e-mail which said there had been. are you comfortable havi

the leading opponent is bashar al-assad. syria's leader is being accused of being behind the bombing. >> they rushed to eastern beirut. this was as the weekend was about to begin. the bomb went off in a crowded mainly christian district of the city. local tv stations were broadcasting images of burned out cars and images of wounded people. 8 people were killed and as many as 100 were injured. the main target was a brigadier general, the chief security official in lebanon. he had recently implicated syria and its lebanese allies, hezbollah, for the killing of the prime minister. he was a fierce critic of syria. this will create shockwaves in the entire region. after a long time of relative calm, this is the first big attack in four years. many feared something like this to happen sooner or later and that lebanon would be dragged into the conflict some political leaders have accused the assad regime in syria of being behind the attack. >> for more on the incident from of volatility out of the region, i spoke a brief time ago w