Trying to predict what comes next in Syria after the toppling of dictator Bashar al-Assad is a fool’s errand. It is hard not to be moved by the jubilant scenes in Damascus but we have been here before: Assad’s downfall evokes images and memories of far too many other recent uprisings in the region.
The masses celebrating freedom signifies nothing beyond the joy of tasting momentary escape from decades of tyranny
Who can forget the joyful crowds in Baghdad tearing down the statue of Saddam Hussein after the 2003 American-led invasion of Iraq? There was similar joy in Egypt in 2011 when Hosni Mubarak’s thirty-year dictatorship came to an end, and the same collective euphoria greeted the demise of Colonel Gaddafi’s bloody rule in Libya that year.
The masses celebrating freedom signifies nothing beyond the joy of tasting momentary escape from decades of tyranny. It is welcome and understandable enough but it rarely presages democracy – and certainly not in the Middle East.
Comments
Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just $5 for 3 monthsAlready a subscriber? Log in