Despite major defections and an increasing tough and brutal resistance, intelligence officials in the United States say that Syria's government is unlikely to fall anytime soon. A report from Reuters quotes members of the intelligence community who say that Bashar al-Assad's inner circle is showing no signs of cracking, and without a wide international consensus to intervene militarily — a consensus that does not exist — the ongoing conflict has no end in sight. 

Officials also describe the war as a "see-saw" battle with rebel forces gaining strength and improving tactics, only to see the military escalate the size and intensity of it own response, with neither side maintaining a decisive edge. 

The U.N. also released a new report admitting that violence in Syria has surpassed levels that were seen before the ineffective cease-fire "agreement" that was supposed to go into effect on April 12. The U.N. has accused both sides of using increasingly brutal tactics, including torture and murder of prisoners and attacking civilians believed to be helping their opposition. The latest report to the Human Rights Council says that the situation is "dangerously and quickly deteriorating" and that some attacks have also begun to take on a religious component, with some groups being targeted based on their faith.

Gunmen on Wednesday attacked the Syrian state TV station killing three employees and setting off explosives. The attack came after Assad spoke to his new cabinet on Tuesday saying that his country is "in a state of war, all of our politics has to be concentrated on winning this war."

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Dashiell Bennett