syria's ambassador to the u.n. was asked whether position were abandoned. we can deny or confirm that. however, it does seem very quiet here in damascus tonight. normally you would be hearing a lot of artillery pounding at this time of night. right now it's fairly silent. >> in other words, maybe some military loyal to bashir al assad might be getting nervous that the u.s. is poised to launch air strikes and they may, we don't know for sure they may be abandoning their positions, is that what you're suggesting, fred? >> reporter: there's a report on media saying that that could perhaps be the case that perhaps some senior leadership might have given up some of the position, the headquarters of the aufir force and army might have less staff in fear of air strikes. we can't confirm or deny that. but the picture we're getting