uprising, you suppress it. syria s president, bashar al-assad, the man behind the crackdown. those who believed in president bashar al-assad lost all their faith when the first bullet was fired at a civilian. this is how the assads, both father and son, deal with domestic threats. can this regime stop today s revolution? there s no question, at this point, that the syrian government thinks it s won. these two stories on this special edition of frontine. frontline is made possible by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. and by the corporation for public broadcasting. major funding is provided by the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation. committed to building a more just, verdant, and peaceful world. and by reva and david logan. committed to investigative journalism as the guardian of the public interest. additional funding is provided by the park foundation. dedicated to heightening public awareness of critical issues. and