either way, a devil

Submitted by Peter Herz (United States), May 26, 2011 at 13:45

Syria is another instance in which the USA has compelling interests in neither repressive stability nor violent change. Besides, if the Arab countries insist on governing themselves by cycles of revolutions sweeping repressive oligarchies or dictatorships into power, they will be a persistent headache for diplomats and foreign policy makers.

If a country like Syria were to overthrow its tyrants and institute a constitutional system that changed power in an orderly manner every few years and also protected its ethnic and religious minorities , that would be something else. However, it seems very unlikely that the current rebels in Syria will institute anything of the sort. My guess is that once they've put the Alawis in their place, they'll make life miserable for Syria's Christian minority and force an accelerated exodus of the already dwindling Christian population of the Middle East.

I would urge the US government to just wait and see.

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