Stratfor is considered authority on strategic and tactical intelligence? Jesus, what´s next? Debka beeing prime source for military operations and intelligence? They are notable, they have some good pieces but dont make them sound like they were CIA, anyone who follows their articles for some time can find there a lot of mistakes and their pushing of point of view. Take this blog above as an example. Startfor found no evidence of any massacre which has taken place in Homs. Yet they somehow didnt mention two thing. 1, No one is legally allowed to Syria without an guide on government-sponsored tours Libya-style. 2, Several journalists got there illegaly by crossing the borders with Lebanon and for example reported this about the massacre that occured in Homs in April when army used small arms as means of crowd dispersal. So it´s not about not finding but either about not looking hard enough or not wanting to find. Also 5,000 dead is UN estimate and is considered by Syrian opposition as pretty small, they say that that many people died in Homs alone.