Obama worries about change in Syria, Jordon--Where is the hope?

Billboard with portrait of Assad and the text ...Image via Wikipedia
NY Times:

Even as the Obama administration defends the NATO-led air war in Libya, the latest violent clashes in Syria and Jordan are raising new alarm among senior officials who view those countries, in the heartland of the Arab world, as far more vital to American interests.

Deepening chaos in Syria, in particular, could dash any remaining hopes for a Middle East peace agreement, several analysts said. It could also alter the American rivalry with Iran for influence in the region and pose challenges to the United States’ greatest ally in the region, Israel.

In interviews, administration officials said the uprising appeared to be widespread, involving different religious groups in southern and coastal regions of Syria, including Sunni Muslims usually loyal to President Bashar al-Assad. The new American ambassador in Damascus, Robert Ford, has been quietly reaching out to Mr. Assad to urge him to stop firing on his people.

As American officials confront the upheaval in Syria, a country with which the United States has icy relations, they say they are pulled between fears that its problems could destabilize neighbors like Lebanon and Israel, and the hope that it could weaken one of Iran’s key allies.

...
While there are dangers in every crisis, there are also opportunities if you have the wisdom and courage to seize them. A new government in Syria might be more willing to cut a deal with Israel and stop supporting the Hezballah death cult. The new government is going to need help and it is likely to get more resources from the West than from the religious bigots who run Iran.

I do not get the sense that the uprising we are seeing is one that is looking to be dominated by religious bigots. In fact there is some evidence that the shooters in some of the cities came from Iran. Certainly Iran is closer to supporting the current government than it is to the people of Syria.
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