The Arab world turns its back on Assad

Syria and Israel are neighbors, in geography and also, sometimes, at airport boarding gates. At Paris's Charles de Gaulle Airport recently, just before I boarded a flight home to Tel Aviv, I noticed passengers at the next gate heading to Damascus. Looking at the neighboring travelers, I did not spot a single foreigner, only Syrians returning to the bloody reality back home. “Where else do you want us to go-” one of them said when I asked if they harbored any fear.

“We can expect tough days ahead as we celebrate the month of Ramadan,” he said. “It is safe to assume that Syria will come out of this very different; no one really knows in what way.” Since the start of the Ramadan holiday, more than 200 people have been killed in that country. At least 2,000 people have lost their lives since protests against President Bashar Assad’s regime began five months ago.

The international community and the Arab world in particular have begun to understand that it is risky to bet on an alternative to the current regime, but more pressure must be exerted on Assad. Even Washington has finally come to the realization that engaging the Syrian opposition is the only option left to help the rebels gain ground, as they have in Libya, but without the need for NATO involvement.

A few days ago the Arab League condemned the crackdown in Syria, with Saudi Arabia going even further and, in a completely new approach, denouncing the status quo in Damascus. On Monday, Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah, whose army was sent to Bahrain to quash that nation's short-lived Shiite uprising several months ago, called for an end to the “killing machine” and “bloodshed.” Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Bahrain have recalled their ambassadors from their “Syrian sister,” as has Italy. On Tuesday, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu will arrive in Damascus to speak with Assad face to face and tell him what Ankara thinks about his actions.

Assad's regime is under pressure. It knows that recent violence has gone so far that even genuine reforms won't be enough to reclaim its lost legitimacy. Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem's recent promise to hold "free and fair" parliamentary elections has failed to impress anyone.

On Monday, Assad sacked his defense minister. Never before has the Syrian leader been so isolated or so dependent on his military. No one would have felt sorry had Assad continued to pursue a career in ophthalmology rather than going into politics.

At the airport in Paris, two Syrian passengers en route to Damascus stood in front of me in line at a duty-free shop. They wanted to know how many whiskey bottles they could purchase. A Muslim Brotherhood regime might not let them bring in a single bottle, but if Assad remains in power, they might not live to drink any of it.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has decided, finally, to pursue a third way and engage the opposition. This tactic, perhaps, will allow the Syrians I saw not only to enter their country with the bottle they bought, but also to crack it open and enjoy it.

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