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Opportunity Knocks in Syria's Unraveling

(Washington Post) Jim Hoagland - * Defeat in two wars with Israel taught the late Syrian leader Hafez Assad to minimize to survive. He did not overlook details or leave things to chance. And he did not antagonize others unnecessarily. While Saddam Hussein killed foes just to stay in practice, Hafez Assad killed them after efforts to buy, cajole, or intimidate them had failed - and then he moved with efficient, overwhelming ruthlessness. Bashar Assad seems to have learned or inherited little from his austere, shrewd father. * Larger principles are involved for Chirac - who is intent on upholding Lebanon's sovereignty and historical ties to France - and for Annan, who has offered unprecedented support by a secretary general for the investigation and incrimination of the leaders of a UN member state. * The Syrians seem to have gone too far even for their fellow Arabs in eliminating the popular Hariri. * At the UN, in Arab capitals, and not least in Washington, there seems to be a fresh willingness to try to find a better way to deal with an unsavory regime that hopes to hide its crimes behind an antiquated shield of sovereignty.
2005-10-27 00:00:00
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