The Breaking Point!

Optimists should read this.

Pessimists should read that.

And to bring things up to date, let’s point out that the Syrian regime is currently trying to acquire some new cards to play with and avoid reaching the Breaking Point: the chaos in Iraq and the Islamist specter, two things that Syrians simply don’t want to see in their country.

For external consumption, the regime is trying to play on the mayhem card as the assassinations in Lebanon are showing. The message is simple: if ignore us or keep your pressures on us, we’ll make trouble for you.

This is not the most effective and intelligent strategy by all means, but what else can one really expect from Baathists and nincompoops?