The Obama administration reacted angrily to Syria’s tolerance of Al Qaeda fighters crossing into Iraq from its territory to stage a string of major bombings.
Syria’s policy is a repeat of its actions in Lebanon in the 1990s, multiplied by Assad Jr’s adventurism. When Israel scaled back her military effort in Lebanon, Syria immediately stepped in to occupy the power vacuum. Just as in Iraq today, Syria acted in cooperation with Iran.
Young Assad converted Hezbollah from a religious fundamentalist organization into a Lebanese nationalist one, and similarly reoriented Iraqi Al Qaeda.
After America created a power vacuum in Iraq, it was foolish to hope that the country would be left alone.
