So Much On Syria

There is no shortage of stories and info on Syria. CFR strikes first noting the precipitous slide of Assad the Younger's regime. They also provide with a helpful guide of the major players of the Syrian government. Not surprisingly 2 of the 3 names in the inner circle are related to him, unfortunately one of those individuals, Assef Shawqat, has been implicated in the assasination of Rafiq Hariri.

NYT took a close look at the UN report on the assasination and provides a blow by blow. It paints a pretty ugly picture of the Syrians and their lap dogs in Lebanon. Current Leb. President Emile Lahoud is among the tainted, he recieved a call from a conspirator nine minutes before they killed Hariri. The WaPost takes a different tack checking out the reaction in the street, on the airwaves (it was read on al Jazeera) as well as in the halls of power. They echo the CFR finding that Little Assad isn't as skillful as his daddy in the diplomacy game. C'mon Hafez wiped out a whole town and the UN didn't even flinch. The WaPost also reports on the Syrian reaction - shock that the truth has come out. They are feeling so pressed that they may allow officials to be questioned abroad. The US confused on being in agreement with anything the UN has done has asked for it to move quickly on Syria.