Report: Assad’s Brother Linked to Chemical Attack

Who ordered the chemical-weapon attack in Syria that left scores of civilians dead? A United Nations official who has been monitoring the conflict in Syria says the decision may not have been a strategic one made by the country's embattled president, Bashar al-Assad. Instead, this official, who asked to remain anonymous, said it could have been made by Assad’s brother, Maher al-Assad, who commands the Syrian Army’s 4th Armored Division, the unit that opposition forces say launched the attack. Other experts in the region, however, are skeptical. It’s unlikely that the regime would cross President Barack Obama’s red line without Bashar’s approval, said Joshua Landis, director of the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma.