Con Artists, the Moral High Ground and the Future of Syria!

My friends Scott Lazensky and Mona Yakoubian of the United States Institute for Peace are currently touring Syria meeting with various Syrian officials and dissidents in an attempt to present some assessment of the situation on the ground at this stage. Their visit, however, has given Syrian officials a golden opportunity to issue one denouncement of American policy after another and, more importantly, to make one ridiculous assertion after another. Continue reading →

Of Lions and Termites!

The debate in the comments section below perhaps got unnecessarily heated, but Alex did make some “sober” points that I simply need to respond to equally as soberly I hope.

Indeed, demanding anything like “simultaneous goodwill gestures between the Syrian government and its Lebanese opponents,” and advising that “[i]f the Americans wanted peace in the Middle East, they should make a deal with Bashar,” seem based on the erroneous assumption that Bashar and his henchmen are indeed capable of behaving like true statesmen and not like the sectarian thugs that they are. People who insist on looking at the Assads of Syria as statesmen are in an unfortunate state of denial. Bashar has been out of his depth from the moment he stepped into office, Maher is an unreliable hothead, and Assef is a man obsessed with his sectarian identity and with the necessity of keeping Alawites in control of Syria at all costs. Continue reading “Of Lions and Termites!” →

One More Reason?

I am not sure what to make of the recent accusations streaming out of Amman against Hamas leaders in Damascus. Are they part of the Jordanian King’s attempt at cornering the Syrian regime as part of some containment plan against the Shia Crescent? Could be, I guess. But if there is any truth to the allegations being made, then the Syrian regime has just given the world one more reason for why regime change in Syria is necessary.

The Case for Regime Change in Syria (2) & (3)

The Syrian regime holds no cards of its own anymore, in fact, it itself has become a card in the hands of the Iranian mullahs. Indeed the mullahs now hold the Syrian card, the Iraqi card, the Hezbollah card and the Hamas card in addition to the nuclear card, making it impossible for the US and the international community to ignore them. Throw in Iran’s size and demography into the mix, and you have a rather formidable opponent. Continue reading →