No doubt Bashar Assad has been reinforced in his belief that murdering civilians is far more preferable than suffering the fate of Hosni Mubarak in Egypt. Mubarak, supposedly suffering from cancer, is lying on a stretcher locked in a cage and standing trial  for corruption and murder. The sight of the once nearly omnipotent dictator so humilated must be giving the Assad's of the Middle East a powerful incentive to do everything they can to avoid being deposed. And despite the fact that Assad's tanks are opening up on unarmed civilians, it doesn't seem to be bothering too many people in the American government - at least, judging by the volume of our protests. One might expect daily remonstrances from our president, or at least our secretary of state. Instead, the State Department press flak reads pretty much the same statement over and over, day after day. "We condemn in the strongest possible terms blah blah blah..." As if Assad hasn't heard it all before: Syrian troops killed...(Read Full Post)