Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's wife Asma maintains that she was the "real dictator" of her family and occupies a crucial spot in her husband's inner political circle, emails leaked to the opposition suggest, British newspaper the Daily Telegraph reported Monday. According to the Telegraph, the email exchanges reveal that Asma al-Assad was very supportive of her husband's harsh crackdown on unrest. Hacked emails from the Assads' accounts have been trickling out of Syria since last week, revealing glimpses of the leader's plans for stamping out the year-old uprising and his iTunes preference (Chris Brown). Over 8,000 people have been killed since the crackdown began last year, according to U.N. estimates. Over the weekend, bombings and firefights rocked Syria's two largest cities, Damascus and Aleppo. Its third largest, Homs, remains under heavy siege by loyalist forces.
