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I am astonished, in two ways: First, that the Regime in Damascus has so badly played its relations with the countries of the Arab League. Instead of using their collective brain-power to devise fresh strategies, they seem to have visited The Tomb in Qurdaha to receive instructions from the Plan, The Man, The Nation.

So sad and unpleasant to suspect that the Regime is in essence stuck with playbook written by the dead Lion. However much they leaf back and forth in the playbook, looking for the pages that tell them what to do … however much they search the Talking Trumpet points for new-sounding lines … however much they consult the Mafia donnas and dons who rule the Family Compact … however they search, there is no new Plan, just the old Plan. Crush, exterminate, lie, dominate, repress, jail, torture, disappear, harass, hunt, disparage, traitorize, condemn, corral and dispose into Tadmor’s welcoming embrace.

I am also astonished by the frenzied, near-hysterical reaction of the hardcore expat Regimist Kazoos. Their speech acts have today shifted from intensely, cultishly self-deluded into frankly insane and beyond (over at The Other Place, the menhebakji are topping each other with witless hysteria and impotent threats.

I am not as astonished by the Arab League vote itself.

It is as if the senior deluded maniacs at the Syrian Palace have no defense against reality but the shopworn dialects of SANA and State TV. The separation of their cognitive apparatus from dire reality is now a yawning gulf (I watched a solid hour of State TV earlier today — the entirety of the report was a non-stop yammer, Tell Us What We Must Hear ‘ordinary citizens’ recruited to repeat the demented script. Paranoid, deluded, hysterical, uninformed, frightened).

To those here who have approached Syrian issues with gravity, realism, heart and soul, and the utmost collegial intelligence, to our host OTW and to all the listed names above, my tankard is raised in salute.

It is my firm conviction that — finally — Syria is experiencing The Week That Was … although I have only one broken spiritual bone in my body, I utter an invocation: please bring peace and wisdom and freedom to Syria, before Assad runs it headlong into the ditch …

ABOUD

Did you see the regime rep’s press conference? They pretty much told the AL to go to hell. Do not underestimate the role personnel feelings play in the making of policy among the Arabs. Qaddafi had alienated everyone from here to Timbuktu, and no one lifted a finger to save him from himself.

Besho has now cornered himself into earning the same pariah status. There is only so much talk of “you are a tool of ze American-Zionist conspiracy against ze great prezident.” an Arab head of state will put up with, before retaliating.

While the GCC was the driving force, what clinched the deal was Egypt. As does Egypt, as goes the rest of the Arab world. The Egyptian people have noisily and overwhelmingly come out for their Syrian brethren. The Egyptian military council has enough on its plate without risking a backlash from an angry populace for the sake of Besho the Baffled.

In the end, the Arab League bowed to the inevitable. They would have had to take these steps sooner or later. In the age of Youtube and satellite channels, one can no longer ignore bloody atrocities, especially as they happen in a language everyone in the region understands.

Also, remember the very last sentence the Qatari FM said at the press conference. Syria is an important country, a vital one considering its position. The Qataris admit Syria is an important part of the “resistance”. They just don’t think junior is the man to lead it. A civil war in Syria would be disastrous for the region, and the regime’s atrocious behavior, and the astonishing, astounding, unprecedented resilience and tenacity of the Syrian people, was making that nightmare scenario a reality.

Now, two things will happen;

1) The opposition needs to grow up. The AL and the world are pleading with a credible opposition to take Besho’s place. The initiative and momentum is now with the SNC. It has been earned and bought with the lives and blood of a Syrian people *who refused to give up*. Now the SNC must make the most of it.

2) Pressure on Russia and China to reverse their positions. Arabiya’s correspondent in Moscow said that there are deep divisions within the Kremlin on Russia’s policy with regards to the regime. There is no doubt whatsoever that neither Russia nor China are prepared to alienate the Arab world for the sake of Besho. Can you imagine the hysteria of the menhebaks once a security council resolution goes against them?

We can all eliminate and dismiss even the remotest possibility that the regime will come up with a diplomatic coup to extract itself from this mess. They are incapable of speaking or dealing with anyone with anything other than thuggery. Trashing Arab and the Turkish embassy? Seriously Besho? How you manage to put on your trousers in the morning is one of the great mysteries of this revolution.

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