New credibility for Arab League

Arab League and bush league are no longer synonymous.

The organization of Arab nations, swept forward uneasily by democratic uprisings across the Middle East, has adopted sanctions designed to sever most Arab trade with Syria -- a welcome measure that will step up the pressure on that nation's tyrant, Bashar Assad, to stop killing his own people and embark on a peaceful handoff of power.

Assad may well be the last person in the world to understand that he simply has to go. The United States and European Union have already imposed sanctions. Turkey, which supports the Arab League sanctions, has also called for Assad to quit.

The reasons aren't obscure. Syrian security forces have already killed more than 3,500, yet that bloodshed has failed to suppress courageous pro-democracy agitation. A UN commission yesterday said Syrian forces had committed gross violations of human rights including summary execution, torture and sexual assault.

Tyrants are toppling across the Arab world, and Arab League sanctions might help rid the region of Syria's. But they are also welcome because they are a sign the league is no longer just a pathetic association of despots, ready to defend its own.

At the very least, the league can tell which way the wind is blowing. And for anyone who cares about human rights, the good news is that it's blowing in the right direction.