Forty-one years ago today (on the 13th of November, 1970), Hafez Assad overthrew Salah Jadid and assumed power in Syria. In normal times, Bashar Assad would have found a way to mark the occasion but not today, and certainly not after the Arab League's decision on Saturday to suspend Syria's membership in the organization. The Arab League, like the Commonwealth of Independent States, has no teeth, but its decisions still have symbolic force. Obama's quick reaction was proof of that. The Arab League has lost much of its honor, authority and credibility over the years, yet it still has something to offer. It was NATO that handed Moammar Gadhafi's head to the rebels, but the countdown to the end of his reign began at Arab League headquarters in Cairo when the organization turned its back on the Libyan ruler. In August, the Gulf states were the first to break the silence among Arab countries when they spoke out about events in Syria, which began in March, and recalled their ambassadors from Damascus. The rest of the Arab world (aside from Lebanon and Yemen, for obvious reasons) had little choice but to join Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the other kingdoms. Qatar, which led the move in Cairo on Saturday and was also the first of the Gulf countries to do so, at the same time made sure to broadcast one too many bloody images from Damascus (on Al-Jazeera). Arab leaders had no other choice. The Arab masses are losing patience. Remember that the Arab League is an extremely conservative body, which always supports preservation of the status quo. Saudi Arabia and Algeria lead the conservative camp, but their decision to suspend Syria was not made out of real concern for the Syrian people or due to the 3,500 casualties of the uprising thus far. The leaders of these countries are worried about their own heads. Saudi King Abdullah has already compromised a holy principle and granted women in the kingdom the right to vote only in municipal elections (no need to get carried away) while Algerian President Bouteflika has not stopped raising the salaries of public employees in his country (15 times since January in some sectors). In February 1982, Hafez Assad massacred thousands of civilians who opposed his rule in the city of Hama. Back then, the Arab League did not suspend Syria. Those were different days. One way or another, Assad's time is running out, even if no one really wants a military option, and nobody really knows how Syria will look the day after. One thing that is clear today, beyond a shadow of a doubt: Syria is more isolated than ever, but Assad can always rely on Iran, and let us not forget that like Iran he can also count on Russia and China.
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