Syria Imploding?

Is Syria becoming the next Islamofascist dictatorship to collapse under the pressure from the Bush Doctrine and the attempt to rein in rogue terrorist regimes?

The World Tribune reports this morning that the Syrian army, which controls Syria, is split and increasingly hostile to Bashar Assad himself. There are even reports that Assad has been forced to flee Damascus to regroup in Aleppo.

Meanwhile, the opposition Lebanese Foundation for Peace reports:

"Around 3 a.m. [Wednesday], Damascus time, the Syrian Air Force bombarded two military airfields around Damascus, the air force base of Dumair, and the air force base of Katana. Also, late night around 3 a.m., the Syrian Air Force bombarded military positions of the Syrian Army west of the city of Homs."

Similar reports appear elswehere. Even more incredible are the growing open activities of pro-democracy Syrian dissidents. These maintain an active web site, which can be accessed for insider news stories, although we do not expect the gang of Ba'athists over at Counterpunch to link to it any time soon. We expect the campus Left to be out with pro-Ba'ath protests within the week, along with "We Like Bashar" and "Take a Ba'athist to Lunch" progressive bumper stickers in West Hollywood and Berkeley.

Meanwhile, another sign of weakness of the regime is the new attempt to coopt and decriminalize the Muslim Brotherhood:

Washington DC, March 20, 2005/RPS/ -- Initial reports are coming to RPS from the United Arab Emirates that the Syrian Embassy is asking all Syrians, especially who are close to the Muslim Brotherhood, to return to Syria. The embassy is facilitating their return home by eliminating any fees associated with the issuance of their passports.

Further to that, there are stories circulating in Damascus that Law 49, which ordains that all Syrians belonging to the Muslim Brotherhood, has been repealed. This law has been in effect since 1980 and has resulted in the killings of scores of Syrians.

Both steps are seen as another sign of how weak the regime has become because it is trying to empower itself through what looks like an alliance with with its nemesis.

Finally, Syrian weaknesss may be what is behind a media campaign by the regime attacking Jordan. In recent days, the Syrian and Jordanian press have taken turns firing accusations at one another over U.N. Security Council Resolution 1559 that calls for a Syrian withdrawal from Lebanon. A March 12, 2005 editorial in the Syrian government daily Teshreen launched a scathing attack on Jordan for its overall policy on the resolution, particularly for a statement that Jordanian Foreign Minister Hani Al-Mulqi made on his visit to Israel to the effect that Syria must implement the resolution. The Syrian editorial, by columnist Issam Dari, stated that Jordan has taken on itself to represent the Devil by adopting a policy similar to that of the U.S. and Israel on 1559, and that this was like being "stabbed by a brother and a partner."