Report to NATO: 70% of Syrians support Assad

[MADem]

8. Well, Yemen is no paradise, even today. They continue to struggle, but

there's at least a lid on that pot.

I believe USA--and the Arab League--feel there is a hope in hell of bringing all parties to the table under one or the other of al-Assad's Vice Presidents...they are, perhaps, more pragmatic than the present dictator.

There will be no "sit down" or "power sharing" or "transition to democracy or some-other-form-of-representative-government" (even something like a "constitutional dictatorship" where there's limited redress) so long as al Assad and his gassy brother are running things. Absolute power has corrupted absolutely. Those two do not want to give that up, and they need to be shown the door in a "Grab your ass and run if you know what's good for you" kind of way.

That said, leaving a vacuum is not a good idea there, either, because the first idiots who reach the halls of power will try to grab the brass ring. Then the next bozos along will fight with them, and chaos will ensue. Having a VP (or both of them) take over and smooth everything over while the same bureaucracies grind away doing the business of government and keeping the streets swept and the lights on is a good thing. Then, perhaps, everyone can sit down and talk about the future of the country. The weirdos who are effective fighters but who are really fringe assholes won't do as well around a table--they won't be able to help doing the "My way or the highway" approach to negotiation, and that will turn the war weary people against them.

I think Syrians will find a certain appeal in a "reasonable person" approach to solving this mess. It's hard to know for sure, though. All I know is that the Gassy al Assad brothers have committed crimes against humanity on a large scale, and that's just not OK with the world. We can't ignore it.