Syria's Assad should take the easy way out
Syrian President Bashar Assad delivers a speech in Damascus (Jan. 10, 2012). Credit: AP
The latest development from Syria is tragic, but not surprising. President Bashar Assad has rejected an Arab League proposal that he hand power to a deputy who could form a national unity government -- which in turn might find a political solution to the increasingly violent rebellion against Assad's autocratic rule.
The league's sensible proposal offered a route out of Syria's bloody impasse as well as a way for Assad to save his own skin -- which, as the experience of other such autocrats shows, is in ever-greater danger as the conflict grows deadlier. Unfortunately, absolute rulers such as Assad have shown a remarkable lack of perspective on themselves in the Arab world, with the result that they often don't survive their tenure in office.
The UN says that more than 5,000 Syrians have died in the uprising so far, mostly thanks to Assad's brutal crackdown on protesters demanding democracy. And because of Assad's foolish rejection of the Arab League's plan, many more Syrians are likely to lose their lives.
If Assad remains intransigent, the rest of the world must continue to isolate and condemn his regime, and to criticize those who enable it. Russia, for instance, has not only blocked UN sanctions aimed at Syria, but reportedly just agreed to sell it 36 combat jets for $550 million, an appalling display of contempt for the world community on behalf of a murderous tyrant. Russia, like everyone else, should side with the Syrian people instead of their oppressor.
