Syria Crisis: The Role of President Assad’s Militias

David Lesch is a professor of Middle East history at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas.

He’s interviewed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on a regular basis over the years as part of his research.

His latest book, Syria: The Fall of the House of Assad, comes out in August.

Marco Werman speaks with Lesch about Assad and the degree to which he’s in control of his security forces and the Alawite militias that are being increasingly linked to the mass killings in Syria.