According to the Times of London, British Prime Minister David Cameron suggested to his NATO partners the idea of assassinating President Bashar al-Assad and organizing a military coup in Damascus. [1]

In such a scenario, the new Syrian leader would break with the anti-Israeli resistance, while most of the Baathist apparatus would remain in power.

This is not the first time that "the camp of democracy" plans to set up a military dictatorship in Syria. It was already the implicit objective of Hillary Clinton and General David Petraeus at the time of the 18 July 2012 attack. On that occasion, a bomb killed the leaders of the Syrian National Security Council, paving the way for a coup, while 40,000 "contras" assaulted the capital. However, the State was able to resist by relying on the National Guard.

Subsequently, France and Turkey had tried unsuccessfully to assassinate President Assad. [2]

Mr Cameron’s proposal presupposes the complicity of a member of the presidential entourage and of a current top Syrian official, in the military or security services.

[1] "West tries to engineer a coup in Damascus," by Roland Watson, The Times, 19 June 2013.