From Zorro to Voltaire!

“When the people are ready, the maser will come!” So says Anthony Hopkins in the Mask of Zorro. I wonder though when will people be ready for the absence of masters? When will they become their own masters?

Some will argue that the peoples of the Middle East are simply not ready for that. I agree. Giving the freedom to do what they want, most people in the Middle East might seek to simply create an alternative form of servitude, e.g. Iraq. Still, I see no other way for people to learn anything about self-governance but to muddle though, e.g. Iraq. Continue reading “From Zorro to Voltaire!” →

The Myriad Faces of Heresy!

“…it is highly unlikely that the Syrian regime will voluntarily effect any major changes in its general structure or its modus operandi. Half-hearted pressures on it to do so will probably not be enough. Still, a full-scale invasion with the goal of effecting a regime change, even with a good casus belli in hand, will most likely prove too problematic at this stage. Syria has a relatively new president who has been received with all due honors by many world leaders, including Spanish Prime Minister José Maria Aznar, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, German Prime Minister Gerhardt Schroeder, and French President Jacques Chirac. Syria’s relations with the world community are much more intricate and ambivalent than those of the Taliban or the Saddam regime, as we have noted earlier. The case against Syria will never be as clear-cut as that against Afghanistan or Iraq. A full-scale invasion of Syria would seem to require a U.S. administration that is even more oblivious to the rest of the world than the current Bush administration seems to be. Continue reading “The Myriad Faces of Heresy!” →

From Mehlis II to Phase II!

The procedural nature of the Mehlis’s Second Report is encouraging some Arab analysts to conclude that a deal has been struck with the Syrian regime or that the crisis is over.

Indeed, it is quite likely that Bashar & Co. themselves might be tempted to think along these lines in due course of time, believing that their scare tactics in Lebanon have had the desired effect. Continue reading “From Mehlis II to Phase II!” →

Six Months!

Can one bring about the collapse of a dictatorial regime that is still quite capable of all sorts of heinous crackdowns and activities within 6 months? I cannot be sure, but the new UN Security Council resolution gives us the necessary context to try something along these lines, a final chance at staving off disaster and working out the necessary miracle. When miracles are necessary, miracles are possible, but they are never inevitable. After so many years of episodic half-hearted uncoordinated and not followed-through attempts, the Syrian opposition has to work exceptionally hard in order to produce the desired/required/needed miracle within the coming six months.

So Syria, it’s one more bet for old times’ sake. Will you give?