The Syrian army is tired of corruption. It is tired of party nepotism. It is becoming very angry with those it blames for the war.

We live in a society in the West, where, when men do violent things, they do them under orders. They are soldiers carrying out orders or mafia men carrying out killings for bosses. But the way things happen in the Middle East is not the same as in the West.

At Baalbek Nuts I bought pistachios from the Lebanese owners, who answered my request for their thoughts on the war with the typically Lebanese response of no problem. It's a lie, as we all knew.

People turn to violence, because they have no other avenue left.

The word 'democracy' and the name of Assad do not blend very well in much of Syria.

U.S. journalists I don't think are very courageous. They tend to go along with the government's policy domestically and internationally. To question is seen as being unpatriotic, or potentially subversive.

And it's true, you hear things in Damascus and, after a few hours, the human double-take stops operating.