New at Reason

Tim Cavanaugh | March 10, 2005

Michael Young wonders why Bashar al-Assad is trying so hard to hang on to a country he doesn't even like.

Comments

|3.10.05 @ 2:37PM|#

Michael:
"to agree to an unconstitutional extension of Lebanese President Emile Lahoud's mandate"

You call it unconstitutional extension, others call it amendment to the constitution. The US had several of those, no?


"The Lebanese parliament amended the constitution on September 3, 2004, however, to extend the incumbent president�s term exceptionally for an additional three years" reference

"Walid Jumblatt recently recounted to the French"

You seem to treat whatever Jumblatt, a well known opporunist, says as the gosbel.

"Assad failed to explain who was "behind" the opposition"

He doesn't need to name them. Just look who is cutting checks to Aoun.

"part of the population has historically sold itself to outsiders (while those who have done so to Syria are extolled as "nationalists"); and protesters against Syria can hardly fill out a camera lens."

You, Charles and many others attempted the same thing, but to a different crowd (the pro-crowd).

|3.11.05 @ 8:50AM|#

" One cannot properly rule over what one disdains..."

Thanks for also summarizing most succinctly a substantial part of the core of my doubts about an American occupation of Iraq and other middle east countries, even in the name of democratization.