Isnt it great to see democracy spreading throughout the Arab world!

There is good news in what we are witnessing in Lebanon - tens of
thousands of young men and women, Christian and Muslim alike, bringing
down the pro-Syrian government of Lebanon. This show of democratic
strength harkens to recent successful efforts in Ukraine. It could be
another "tipping point" in democratizing the Arab world.

Today, the Syrian leadership is completely exposed, lacking any
political cover. Its occupation of Lebanon - under the guise of
defending civil peace - is called into question by the sight of those
tens of thousands of young Lebanese flooding the streets of Beirut and
carrying signs reading, "Syria Out."

The protesters in Beirut were heard throughout the Middle East. Key
Arab leaders, including President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt and King
Abdullah II of Jordan, asked Syria to leave Lebanon and comply with
U.N. Resolution 1559.

Assad is faced with a more difficult situation than the one faced by
Saddam in 1990. The regional environment has been fundamentally altered
by the advent of satellite media in the Middle East. Along with their
leaders, the people of the Arab world have closely followed these
developments - through the coverage of pan-Arab television such as
al-Jazeera and al Arabiya, as well as the Lebanese Future television,
owned by the family of Rafik Hariri, the recently martyred former prime
minister.

Globally, the cover for Syrian domination of Lebanon has been blown
away by the U.N. resolution and the consensus reached between the
United States and Europe on this matter. France's President Jacques
Chirac, leader of Lebanon's former colonial power, attended Hariri's
funeral.

Syria is completely isolated, locally by the Lebanese crowds, and
regionally as important Arab states such as Egypt, Jordan and Saudi
Arabia have backed the protesters in their demand that the Syrians
withdraw from Lebanon. After a period of cool relations following the
Iraq war, the United States and France have come together to call for
the immediate implementation of 1559.

So, as the Syrian Foreign Minister Farouq al-Shara traveled to Cairo
and Riyadh during the last two days, he confronted great trouble in
getting any help from his traditional friends.

Even the most authoritarian regimes who have managed to quell their
internal dissent must take into account this fact: The United States is
next door in Iraq. Syria has based its policies inside and out on fear,
intimidation and power play. Few Arab citizens or states are likely to
be sympathetic to Syria's present plight.

To bad the liberal whiners are not under the thumb of a Saddam type or
Assad type. Bet they would change thier tune in a heart beat.

Joe