Letting Assad Stay

Bashar al-Assad is the President of Syria. He is said to be a dictator, just like his father, and he may well be just like his father. However, it is because he is like his father that he should be allowed to stay in power until a solution to a more serious problem can be found. You see, there are 2.2 million Alawites and Druze and 1.9 million Christians and a small number of Jews among the 19.7 million people. The Sunni majority have attempted genocide on the Alawites and Druze four times in the past and with an almost certain take over by Islamists, if Bashar al-Assad is replaced, there will be genocide again. 

We have seen that in Egypt the 8 million Coptic Christians have been attacked and their churches burned after the revolution. These things did not happen under the previous regime. We have seen in Tunisia threats against the Jewish minority which did not happen under the previous regime. In Iran, we have seen the Jews and Christians harassed and mistreated by the Shi'ite regime which never happened under the Shah. Until some outside body can assure the safety of over 25% of the people who will be in jeopardy, no regime change should take place. 

It is time that the people see that Western and especially American diplomacy in the Middle East have been a failure. American activities have guaranteed that the people did not progress toward democracy or stability. In fact, American activities have given some of our worst enemies access to advanced weaponry to use against us. Israel no longer trusts us. They are busy building new bridges with Cyprus, India, Greece, and Bulgaria because we are no longer faithful friends. Turkey under the generals was a supporter of the West, but under the religious government it is a friend of Iran. In fact, Iran is a democracy. It is just as good a democracy as Pakistan, Jordan, Greece, Hungary, and Russia. Yet because Iran is anti-American, it is not considered a democracy. Democracy, to be successful, requires the development of democratic, secular, institutions in advance of the establishment of democracy. 

War between Israel and Iran is inevitable. The world should stay out of that war. Let Iran fire its one nuke at Israel. Let Israel fire ten in response. Let the Iranians overthrow their leadership in the aftermath. None of the Iranian nukes will get through, even though some of the other missiles will. Israel will be punished because of its refusal to keep the Sabbath and its refusal to remove unkosher food from its markets. But Israel will survive. Iran will be smaller after the war. Kurdistan will be formed as a result of the war. 

We must realize that if Israel is let to have a free hand, Hizballah and Hamas will cease to exist along with most of their supporters. Several million enemies of Israel will die. Israel will annex the West Bank and the Palestinian problem will be resolved in a different, more drastic manner. Israel will follow the Chinese example and outlaw the birth of more than two children per Israeli, including Palestinian, families. This will maintain the status quo. 

Ron Paul would allow the inevitable to happen. Elect him to the Presidency.