Sadly, in practice the Boy Assad has no interest in talking for talking's sake. He's out to survive and win.
So how has the boy king acted since this unauthorized foray into the diplomatic world?
Assad, at least, seems to have gained confidence that he can behave as brutally as he wishes without incurring too much international opprobrium. In the month since Pelosi’s visit, he has ratcheted up repression, all but snuffing out the lingering embers of the “Damascus spring” that followed his accession to power seven years
ago. Six prominent dissidents were packed off to prison for sentences ranging from three to twelve years, the longest term being given to Kamal Labwani for communicating with a foreign country,” i.e., the United States. “It’s back to the 1980’s, to the worst days of his father’s rule,” commented the exiled dissident Ammar Abdulhamid.
Our Speaker has moved on to other things. For her it was just theater. Another stage to bash the president. Time to move on while President Bush deals with the fallout. And the little people in Syria, of course, who lost the protection that fear of sharing Saddam's fate had on the Syrian regime's ruthless thugs. Toss in the Lebanese and Iraqis and our troops who face jihadis sent in by Damascus to kill.
For Assad, it was also a magical moment to savor. The visit was all he needed. It was a visible symbol that President Bush wouldn't be able to touch Assad with Bashar's new bestest friend extolling the virtues of engagement.
If the Speaker's purpose had been diplomacy, we'd say she failed miserably. But we all know that her mission succeeded wonderfully. It was all about our domestic politics--not Syria's. That imprisonment stuff was just unfortunate collateral damage.
UPDATE: Speaker Pelosi is one of many who foolishly think Syria can be a partner for peace:
There is nothing wrong with keeping an open mind on Syria. However, an "open mind" can be shorthand for blindness or bad faith. Given the evidence, it makes no sense to dismiss Syrian involvement in the Lebanese crisis, or to blame the crisis on an al Qaeda affiliate allegedly financed by the Lebanese government. Nor does it make sense to assume that Lebanon is a burden that the U.S. should jettison in favor of a stabilizing Syria, considering the fact that al Qaeda materialized from across the Syrian border. We're asked to believe that a group, said to be financed by the Siniora government, picked a fight with that very government, and somehow innocently did so just as the U.N. prepared to establish a tribunal the Syrians fear.
When Syria is systematically exporting instability throughout the region, you have to wonder whether its regime can be a credible partner to the U.S.
Why so many have such faith in the good will of Assad is beyond me.
