Assad's only chance of political survival may hinge on his ability to listen to what the anti-corruption protestors are saying in neighbouring Lebanon, Iraq and also Syria.
Secular, able minded people in the region are completely fed up with corrupt and autocratic fake democracies that survive by feeding off the politics of sectarianism.
Unsurprisingly many protestors say that they want nothing to do with the politics or political models of countries such as Iran and Turkey.
Whether or not Assad has the brains to submit something new and different before Syria's so-called Constitutional Convention remains to be seen. I don't hold out much hope of improvement but anything is certainly possible.
Should Assad fail to act sensibly his country will remain calved up by more powerful players. Touting the same old crap that got Syria into trouble in the first place won't harness the level of people power that is needed to put a stop to Syria's cycle of total war and complete destruction.
