It's surprising that amid all the searches for a grand unified theory of the Iraq-Syria fiasco, there isn't much focus on the historically obvious link between the countries: Ba'athism. The other major historical link is through the failed transplantation of the Hashemite monarchies in each country -- which also serves to illustrate the continuing paradox of the Arab political world, that the modern monarchies have held up far better than the supposedly modernizing presidential systems.
Anyway, as Maureen Dowd might say, Barack Obama came into office sure that the one way he could outperform George Bush was in not having his foreign policy legacy defined by a Ba'athist dictator -- only to end with his foreign policy legacy defined by a Ba'athist dictator.
Anyway, as Maureen Dowd might say, Barack Obama came into office sure that the one way he could outperform George Bush was in not having his foreign policy legacy defined by a Ba'athist dictator -- only to end with his foreign policy legacy defined by a Ba'athist dictator.