Victor Davis Hanson
Who could not despise the tottering
The Syrian strongman has killed some 10,000 protestors over the last year; thousands of Syrians are now refugees.
The autocracy arms and aids the terrorist organization
Theocratic and terrorist-sponsoring
With sanctions not working, and with the Chinese, Iranians and Russians not eager to see Assad go, there is lots of talk that
At first glance, such a humanitarian intervention seems a good idea. A well-armed insurgency might fight its way to
Would not the spread of the Arab Spring to
But intervention, even if by air or through stealthy military assistance, requires some sort of strategy, and right now
The point is not that we should only support idealists who promise an Arab version of Santa Monica, but that we do not oust one monster whom we are not responsible for only to empower one just as bad whom we would be responsible for.
Our three last interventions in the
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In
Since we went into
After lots of interventions, we have learned one thing about loud Arab reformers, especially those who were educated at Western universities: They damn us for supporting their dictators; they damn us for removing them; they damn us for interfering in their affairs when we help promote democracy; and they damn us as callous when we just let them be.
These cautionary tales do not necessarily mean that we should not help the Syrian dissidents, only that we must ask ourselves who exactly are these guys, how much will it cost to see them win, and when it is over will our new friends rule any more humanely and competently than the monsters that we remove?
And one final consideration: If intervening in
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- Bipartisan Assault on Middle East Peace
- We're Already at War in Syria
- Syrian Kurds Fleeing to Iraqi Safe Haven
- The Bad/Good Idea of Removing Syria's Assad
- Syria's Atamans
- Syria: America vs. Israel?
- The Other Case for Intervention in Syria
- The United Nations is Failing Syria
- Road to Bahrain's Heart Is Through Its Appetite for Weaponry
- Bahrain's Popular Revolt is Still Being Crushed
- Terrorism and the Exceptional Individual
- Egypt's Path Winds Toward Democracy
- The Continuing Threat of Libyan Missiles
- Promoting Democracy in Iran Is Not Only Wishful Thinking, But Belligerent
- Diplomacy Is the Only Way Forward with Iran
- Supporting MEK a Lose-Lose Proposition for Israel
- U.S. Sides With Israel's Nukes Over Iran's Lack Thereof
- Azerbaijan: Israel's Reluctant Friend
- Economics Not Democracy Driving Arab Youth
- Why Nuclear Weapons Programs Often Fail on Their Own and Why Iran's Might, Too
- When Nuclear Weapons Programs Fail to Ripen
- Why Iran Will Compromise
- Are Nuclear Weapons Really a 'Big Sin' to Iran's Supreme Leader?
- The West Negotiates with Iran
- Google and Iran Spar Over Gulf's Name
- Remembering Israel's West Bank Offensive
- Principled Intervention in Syria
- Syria Seeks to Turn Peace Proposal Into Surrender Document
- The Militarization of the Syrian Uprising
- Tweeters Probe the Tenderest of Saudi Sore Spots
- Egypt Foils Iranian Plot to Kill Saudi Envoy in Cairo
- Saudi Arrest Lays Bare Egyptian Resentments
- The Political Economy of the Maghreb Spring and Its Aftermath
- Arab Spring Frees Media, Mostly
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