From the I-TOLD-YOU-SO Department
AP: Former Syria VP Says Assad Should Go.
By ZEINA KARAM, Associated Press Writer 1 hour, 31 minutes ago
BEIRUT, Lebanon – A former Syrian vice president who has openly broken with President Bashar Assad intensified his criticism Thursday, saying the Damascus regime had outlived its time and was unlikely to survive much longer.
Abdul-Halim Khaddam, who left his post in the Syrian government in June, was asked in an exclusive interview with The Associated Press interview from Paris whether he supported regime change.
[SNIP]
Khaddam said such mistakes, in addition to the Syrian regime’s failure to effect political and economic reforms, caused him to give up on the regime and decide to speak out.
He denied that he was encouraged to publicly break with the Syrian regime by Saudi Arabia or any other country and said such talk was baseless.
There had been speculation that his TV appearance on the Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya was intended as a message from Saudi leaders to the Syrians.
Your humble correspondant finds this particularly interesting. If the former VP specifically denies on Saudi TV that his statement was influenced by the Saudis, this suggests to me that the exact opposite is true. That the real hardliners in Syria take direction from House Saud, and Bashar Assad is being escorted out of office in accordance with Saudi guidance. He is being told politely that he may leave. If he dawdles, I have no doubt that he will be ejected without much ceremony.
My LGF prediction
of 1/4/2006 01:23AM PST:
Here’s my prediction: Bashar Assad won’t go without a fight. He will not answer any questions of his own will, and you have seen the last of the UN in Syria for a while.
He knows his hands are dirty, and he knows it won’t be hard to trap him if confronted. He won’t allow it.
If we *do* see him answering questions, we may rest assured that things have been set in motion behind the scenes by the real hard-liners. He is (as Hitch put it) a *Dauphin*, and has never been the force in that country; if he never knew that before, he will be shown the truth soon.
This was in response to news that the head of Syrian Intelligence may have defected to London. Syria is rapidly becoming the most interesting part of the Middle East, and where is the U.S Media? A hospital in West Virginia, and a hospital in Israel. Ghouls.