Jerry, very good synopsis of the situation with Syria as inspired by the Rubin's book.

Rubin is rightly critical of the West that does not have the guts for gunboat diplomacy with the Syrians, but that is what it will take,  as it will with Iran to get Syria and Iran to change their ways.  

Gun boat diplomacy to have any credibility however, means pointing loaded guns and the West is not even willing to point unloaded guns at Syria and Iran.

The grand master plan of the Bush administration cobbled together as I recall when America suddenly found no WMD’s in Iraq and looked for another rationale to be there  is to democratize the Muslim Middle East.  I wonder what Bush was smoking when he went along with that pie in the sky idea.

There is no need of regime change in Syria.  If Syrians want to live under the Ba'athist regime that is their business.  If they don't, that is their business too.

Westerners can allow themselves to feel sympathy for the plight of Syrians whose civil rights are denied or trampled, but  such compassion gives rise to  no duty to commit Western finances, energies and people including American soldiers whose lives would be at risk to trying to bring democracy to Syria.  The same holds true for any other Muslim Middle Eastern despotic nation that tramples and denies human rights.

The West has their own self duties to advance their own self interests as well as their highest duty which is to protect Western citizens, the Western way of life and friendly and allied nations whose protection they have by treaty agreed to protect, from  all enemies that would seek to harm the West and her allies.

In furtherance of the aforesaid Western interests that necessarily must come first and ahead of the interests of those others less fortunate to not live in the West but rather under the hand of a brutal dictator,  the West should be ensuring that Bashir Assad  will be left to his own devices with the borders of his own country, but if he does anything to harm any Westerner beyond Syrian borders, the  Western nations will be paying him one first and  final visit .

Those who seek to advance their own interests by striking fear in the hearts of others must be disabused of that mindset by having fear strike deep within them that if they mess up, they will be gone.

Cross Posted at Israpundit