Wednesday, September 05, 2012

Thick as a brick

It's always tempting when analyzing the ability of Bashar al-Assad like his father before him to hang on to power in the face of widespread opposition and revulsion at his tactics. Adjectives like "wily," "intelligent," "calculating," and so on easily lend themselves to the analysis.

Then you read that Bashar al-Assad's e-mail password was 1234. Then the snipers, tanks, helicopter gunships and jets that he has unleashed in his own people don't seem wily, intelligent, or calculating. It's just what he is, brutally stupid and effective only until he runs into opponents willing to presume he's that stupid.

Good luck Russia and Iran with your only Arab friend.