The Domino Effect

Today when I heard the news that the Syrian backed puppet government in Lebanon resigned en masse, I started to think of all the changes in the Middle East, starting with Libya and its about face after Iraq was routed.

Now todays' development, and the pressure Syria is facing, and the pressure the mullahs in Iran are facing from their own people, and the changes in Egypt, and Saudi Arabia, and for the moment anyway, the positive developments of cooperation between Israel and the Palestinians: and found myself wistfully thinking that maybe this was the beginnings of the domino effect -- the fall of tyrants and theocrats.

It made me wonder if there would have been a similar effect had we stopped at Afghanistan, and not gone into Iraq; or had we chosen to take on Iran, or Syria instead of Iraq, would be still getting these same results.

My first inclination was to answer, no. Iraq (Saddam) was seen as the bully, the power player of the Middle East. Taking him down sent a bigger, more powerful message than had, say Syria.

Captain Ed has similar thoughts and does a good analysis, check it out.