I’ve mocked the Dorktator for years. But as time went on, I realized that Baby Assad was every bit as ruthless as his father, who murdered tens of thousands of his own people in Hama, destroyed the town, and salted the fields—to make sure that his subjects (subjects, not citizens) knew the price of disobedience.
Now, Bashar al-Assad is proving that he is his father’s son. He’s sent in the army to put down the rebellion—mercilessly.
When I see Barry Rubin write what I was thinking (and I’ve been waiting for Professor Rubin so I could link to him), then I know game’s over for the attempt at democratic (maybe) rule in Syria. What’s the worst the West will do? Sanctions? UN resolutions? Ooooh, Baby Assad is shaking in his designer shoes. (And hey, U.S. media, nice hagiography! Really, look at this Vogue article on Bashar’s wife.
And let’s not forget John Kerry going over there and insisting that Assad wants peace. He’s someone we can work with. Yeah. Right. A reformer, too, right, Hillary?
Mind you, I’m not calling for intervention in Syria. Of course, it’s too bad the revolution will fail, because that would leave Iran and Lebanon without a third of their axis—at least, until the dust settled. The middle east is looking like it’s heading towards either one giant Islamist hegemony, or several more Syrias. Don’t think the dictators haven’t noticed the difference between Libya and Egypt. The ones that remain will be following the Libya example.
Give it a few more years, and I’m sure you’ll have more magazine articles on what a handsome couple Bashar and his wife make. The dead of Syria? They’ll be forgotten by the West.