Lebanon's bankrolled 'experts' seethe & pontificate

(Reuters)- "The regime is in trouble. People have been repressed for 40 years but suddenly the wall of fear has crumbled and they are no longer frightened,...Each time the regime makes new concessions, the people get bolder and ask for more. They see it as a sign of weakness. The regime doesn't know how to respond -- it's like an old grudge people have been waiting to avenge..." Sarkis Naoum of Beirut's an-Nahar newspaper told Reuters...

"It was a combination of repression, corruption, incompetence and the degeneration of the system," says analyst Jamil Mroue. "It became combustible and people suffocated."...

"The Baath Party is ancient, outdated and obsolete. The decisions are being made by the security forces and services who play a fundamental role in the country. They are the real force," said Talal Salman, publisher of Beirut's as-Safir daily, traditionally sympathetic to Syria....

"There is a big possibility that the army will split or they won't accept to take part in a crackdown, if ordered. It is not easy to bring the regime down but it is easy to divide the regime," An-Nahar's Naoum said."If Bashar wants to do another Hama in the first two hours the whole world will rise up," Naoum said..."