Assad Makes Enemies

It appears that Syrian president Bashar Assad has succeeded in deepening his isolation in the world. Arab media in Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia has begun attacking him over the speech he gave criticizing Arab governments for their reaction over Lebanon.

 Syria's president sparked a wave of anger after he knocked Mideast leaders as "half men" in a televised speech, underlining the divisions as Arab nations try to form a unified front in the wake of the Lebanon crisis.

The bitterness over Bashar Assad's speech last week will likely stir up a gathering of Arab foreign ministers in Cairo on Sunday. The meeting is supposed to pave the way for a summit of heads of state later in the month that will draw up plans to help rebuild Lebanon - and try to launch a new Arab peace initiative with Israel.

So far governments have not commented on Assad's jibes - instead, the task has been left to newspapers in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan - some of which are state-guided - which have been sizzling with personal and direct attacks on Assad the like of which the region has not seen directed against an Arab leader in years.

One paper described the Syrian president as a rose that has failed to bloom. Another berated him for remaining silent throughout Israel's offensive on Lebanon. And a third mocked all his talk about resistance when not a single bullet has been fired from Syria toward the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

Assad had been silent throughout the 34 days of fighting in Lebanon between Israel and Hizbullah, a Syrian ally. But the day after a cease-fire set in, he gave his speech.

He said the Lebanon war had "unveiled half men" - a reference to the opposition of Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan to Hizbullah's abduction of two IDF soldiers that triggered the July 12 fighting.

Assad's undiplomatic rhetoric, unusual for this Arab regime that has long seen itself as the champion of Arab nationalism, suggested he was deepening his move away from the Arab world's heavyweights allied to Washington and closer to Persian Iran.

That really is the problem now. Syria is rapidly allowing itself to become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Iran. The other countries in that region are running out of time to stand up to Iran and avoid the same fate. I rather suspect that has a lot to do with the sudden unleashing of the press in this manner.