Bashir Assad was clearly spooked by the Arab Spring and what happened to Moammar Gaddafi, but he's only made the people under his boot hate him even more by waging war against his own people, slaughtering many civilians including women and children.

His fall is inevitable now, and he better hope he can escape the country before the rebels get their hands on him. His death won't be painless or quick if that happens.

If he's smart, he'll negotiate a hasty exit before his government falls. Better to be tried before a human rights tribunal than tortured to death by the rebels.