intact...Mr Panetta, DO YOU FEEL WELL??????????????????????????

Syria's army, like the armies of all mideast dictatorships is built around the personal security of Assad and his family and his clan. It will necessarily fracture. If the US defense minister doesn't know that he really needs some new advisers.

Gees does this guy ever listen to what he says...

Dich Cheney admitted that Saddam Hussein transported his chemical weapons to Lebanon shortly before the last Gulf War.

I don't understand. The EU declared that Hezbollah wasn't a terrorist organization. What's the problem? /sarc

And the alternative the FSA is made up of much more than the defectors, which have had only limited training. After all that was Iran, Russia and Assad's plan Assad or chaos. You can't have it both ways you either go in early and maintain the security apparatus and infrastructure or what we have now. With WMD's it is for the Russians to watch the Chechen's and for the West to watch al-Qaida, that they do not acquire them.

Panetta is a master at SPEAKING THE BLOODY OPBVIOUS.

...because they too hate Israel, and will need them for their future defense.

Only a matter of time before we see them come into play during the next ME session of events & tempers boiling over. Seems fated.

Hezbollah is preparing 'a big surprise' for "Israel" and the region :) I believe Hezbollah's Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.

Sadly , you are one dumb chap so I suggest you go away and mind your own business and desist from telling other countries and peoples what to do and how to run their lives.