More Syrian high ranked military defecting

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Looks like to me that the "rats are abandoning ship". Well, to me, top ranked military defecting couldn't be a good sign. I mean, things need to get really bad for one to just abandon their oath and flee. For a military, defection is shamefull and only used as last resort. Some even prefer to die than defecting. Well, it at least has a moral effect on troops. I mean, if I see the general defecting, I would not feel confortable at all to fight. Who knows if all the others wouldn't do the same when SHTF?