Syria and the Future

Trudy Rubin writes about Syria and the challenge the Mehlis report will be for Boy Assad:

On Friday, a United Nations investigation into the Hariri murder, led by a German prosecutor named Detlev Mehlis, pointed the finger at top Syrian officials. Mehlis' hefty report reads like a thriller. It paints a detailed picture of top Syrian and Lebanese security thugs plotting to eliminate Hariri because he wanted Syrian troops to leave his country.

One Syrian intelligence source who squealed claims the plot was hatched by the powerful brother and brother-in-law of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. He describes alleged meetings at Damascus' Meridien Hotel, the Presidential Palace, and the office of the brother-in-law, Asef Shawkat. (I stayed at the fussily decorated Meridien in June, and now wonder if I slept next to the plotters' meeting place.)

Emphasis mine. The word "squealed: is an interesting word to use. Think about this; how many times do you hear the word "squealed" used in any context but the negative? Did Richard Clarke "squeal"? Generally, if a reporter approves of someone "squealing" they won't use that word, they'll use "blew the whistle" or some other word that shows them as heroic or at least not in a negative light.

Why am I harping on this one word? Because Rubin writes in a style reminiscent of Thomas Friedman, liberally throwing in that she was there firsthand and thus has more authority with such issues. How close to the Assad regime has Rubin become? It's not unheard of, as Thomas Friedman showed with a certain Saudi Prince and a peace plan.

But Assad could have preempted the possibility of such attacks. For example, he could have responded positively to Iraqi government emissaries who have asked Syria to turn over Iraqi Baathists operating networks of Islamist insurgents out of Aleppo and Damascus. Assad has refused.

The Syrian leader could have taken preemptive action to arrest officials involved in the Hariri murder. Instead, his regime stonewalled U.N. investigators.

He may be too weak to act, too beholden to members of his family clique who allegedly ordered the murder. He may believe his weakness will save him - because others fear post-Assad chaos. Or he may think there's nothing he can do that will satisfy the Bush team.

Whatever the reason, the Syrian leader can dally no longer. The U.N. report on Hariri's death has hastened Assad's moment of truth.

This may well be Rubin's most straight-forward column in a while. But, for someone with so much time in the region, she seems to tone down the story when writing of Assad.