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February 16, 2005
Domino theory
"Tom Paine" is all excited about what is presumed to be a spectacular case of Syria shooting itself in the foot.Can I also suggest that as part of the long-range 3-D chess game Bush is apparently playing in the Middle East, we could well discover Saddam's missing WMDs, buried in the Bekaa valley in Lebanon by the Syrians? There were plenty of intelligence reports at the outset of the Iraqi phase of the war suggesting Assad was allowing Iraq's WMDs to be hidden in territory under his control. The Bekaa Valley in Lebanon was quite specifically mentioned. Wouldn't it be interesting if that's where they turned out to be all along?It really is too perfect, isn't it? If one were inclined to conspiracy theories, one might wonder whether someone other than Syria had committed the bombing just to bring this about . . . .Well, only one way to find out.
And thanks to the brilliant masterstroke by the Dentist of Damascus of having Lebanon's President, Rafik Hariri, blown to bits in broad daylight, he seems to have handed Washington the most perfectly formed casus belli imaginable. Whatever moves the US makes can now be described as a respose to Syrian agression, and their illegal occupation of Lebanon, condemned (as the Left might care to note) by the United Nations. How does "Operation Lebanese Freedom" sound? Heh heh heh.
And look, here come Iran and Russia, tentatively bluffing behind Syria. But the assassination has galvanized Lebanon. The mullahs are barely keeping a grip on their subjects as it is. And Russia will have to figure out whose side she's on. (Sometimes I wonder if Russia will be the last half-way semi-democratized autocracy left. I feel sorry for the old bear.)
The line for terrorist-supporting dictators forms on the left.
RELATED: Some discussion on the efficacy of giant truck bombs.
UPDATE: Some context from Meryl.
UPDATE: This is not good news. Two steps forward and one step back.
UPDATE: Tom Friedman is on a roll; this is his second good column in as many weeks. He notes another element in the mix I described above: The Lebanese are getting pissed.
Judith | 02/16/05 at 02:59 PM | Categories: WWIV
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