The White House said on Monday the defection of Syria's prime minister showed that President Bashar al-Assad's government was "crumbling from within". "This is a sign that al-Assad's grip on power is loosening. If he cannot maintain cohesion within his own inner circle, it reflects on his inability to maintain any following among the Syrian people that is not brought about at the point of a gun," White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters.
