Assad inspires 'flip' theories

Oh, good grief, Baker had nothing to do with it - he's as much a nonentity in the Arab world as he is here. Assad and the rest of them have come down a little from the euphoria that accompanied the Democratic victory and realize now that it isn't going to result in a precipitate U.S. retreat from Iraq. In fact, it may spur some rather more vigorous activity that will definitely not be in their interest.

The U.S. is Assad's best deal despite appearances. Iran wants to own him and so do certain actors in Saudi Arabia. But he's riding the tiger of the Lebanon involvement and Iran is slowly taking control of that from him. What he has going against him is his blatant and outrageous support of foreign terrorism in Iraq. That's a losing hand anyway. What he has going for him is a little-marked but significant support of the U.S. effort elsewhere in the WOT in the form of his domestic intelligence agencies. It may be enough to call off Bush's dogs, or it may not.

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