Hello:

If you were Bashar al-Assad of Syria, and you SAW Hosni Mubarak dragged into court (http://www.hrw.org/news/2011/08/03/egypt-mubarak-trial-opens) AFTER he heeded the call to resign, would you quit? Or would you do ANYTHING you could to stay in power, even if it means brutalizing your own people? (http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2011/08/01/the_last_stand_of_bashar_al_assad)

excon

I'm not Assad and he's just taking advantage of the media attention being focused on Mubarak to finish his dirty work. By the way, Mubarak was offered asylum in Israel (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/egypt/8679159/Hosni-Mubarak-was-offered-asylum-in-Israel.html) and he apparently turned it down.

So anyway, what's your point? We should excuse Assad massacring his own people because he's afraid what happened to Mubarak might happen to him?

So anyway, what's your point? We should excuse Assad massacring his own people because he's afraid what happened to Mubarak might happen to him?Hello again, Steve:

Excuse?? No. Understand? Sure. He has NO incentive to leave, and EVERY incentive to fight to the last man..

My point?? It's a mess over there. There are no winners. Should we DO something? I don't know. Should we? What?

excon

Well, I think we need to do more than the UN did (http://www.csmonitor.com/World/terrorism-security/2011/0804/Syrian-protesters-criticize-UN-Security-Council-statement-as-insufficient?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+feeds%2Fworld+%28Christian+Sc ience+Monitor+|+World%29) which evidently, was to "deplore the situation", or at least that's their typical language.

I say let them sort it out for themselves then they will only have themselves to blame

The contest in the Levant is now between rising powers of Ottoman Turkey(where democracy is falling rapidly to Islamism) and Iran(where overthrowing a tyranny led to a worse tyranny)... and the Saudis desperate attempt to preserve their role in the Sunni world .
Syria is a place on the chess board being contested by all 3 . Assad is powerless without Iranian backing . He saw the playbook of the Mahdi-hatter ;and the West's non-reaction to a brutal suppression of liberty seeking protesters ;and found his template. The mistake evidently in Egypt was that Mubarack had been friendly with the US ;AND he did not brutally crack down when he had a chance. (You notice the President has been virtually mute compared to his pompus declarations during the Egyptian revolt) .
BTW ;the Egyptian Army appears to be reasserting their authority in Egypt .Despite promises of free and fair elections I suspect a new Pharaoh will eventually be installed .
I have been for fostering a regime change in Syria since the Beirut barracks bombing . We are certainly justified in intevention since so many of our troops were killed and wounded by infiltrators going across the Syrian border into Iraq with the blessing of the regime . For all we know that rat line may still be operational.

You are right about Assad's view of the situation . He has no real power on his own;he is part of a 12% Alawite minority in the country ,and he is at best a weak version of his blood thirsty old man.

Expect Assad,Saleh and Q~Daffy to hold on and fight to the end. If a friend to the US Mubarack can be thrown to the dogs then what will happen to them ?
Exile is not an option . Q~Daffy is already wanted by the International criminal court ;and it appears his slaughters will be small potatoes compared to the Syrian massacres . Of course we have no numbers of the casualties in Iran that went unanswered by the West except a collective yawn.

Why would the protesters still look to the West for aid ? Whatever happens another generation of Arab will hate us because our rhetoric about freedom is toothless when push comes to shove. If they're lucky they will get sat. phones so they can tweet the slaughter for the world to see.

. Of course we have no numbers of the casualties that went unanswered by the West except a collective yawn.

Why would the protesters still look to the West for aid ? Whatever happens another generation of Arab will hate us because our rhetoric about freedom is toothless when push comes to shove. If they're lucky they will get sat. phones so they can tweet the slaughter for the world to see.

I offer a collective yawn to the whole thing and you should too. These are the people after all who rejoiced when you were attacked. These things have a habit of coming full circle both in Egypt, Syria and Iran. If you have any sense in the US you will stand back and watch and let these people strive for democracy and win the prize themselves or fail. Whatever, they must do it themselves or it will be of little value.

If that was the attitude of the French then the US would never have achieved independence. Sometimes the desire for liberty is not enough . They should know at a minimum that we are on the side of the liberty seekers.

If that was the attitude of the French then the US would never have acheived independence. Sometimes the desire for liberty is not enough . They should know at a minimum that we are on the side of the liberty seekers.

If I remember correctly Tom the French did not rush to the aid of the american rebels but arrived opportunistically late in the day.The people of Syria know you are "on their side", the events in Iraq would have told them that, but they have no lying expats in america to tell you about WMD. They would love you to commit your troops in Iraq to their aid but even BO is not that stupid. No crusading furvour there

they have no lying expats in america to tell you about WMD.

Most likely Assad is the host of the Iraqi weapons that were smuggled out in the long prelude to the war while the US made it's case to the world ;and Bush obtained approval by Congress... That took considerable time ;enough time for Saddam to move significant qty of weapons out.

This in contrast to the way Obama committed the US to war in Libya . Maybe he wasn't " stupid " in bypassing the Constitutional way as Bush was "stupid " in making a Constitutional case for war .