AGAIN, IN SYRIA – AT 8:41 A.M. ET:  Mass demonstrations are erupting in Syria again today, another indication of a Mideast in flames.   And again the government is ready to fire into crowds, having receiving nothing more than a wrist slap from the "international community."  The president of the United States, who hustled American ally Mubarak out of power in Egypt, seems entirely detached.  From Reuters:

(Reuters) - Thousands of Syrians called on Friday for the toppling of President Bashar al-Assad and pledged support for the city of Deraa where tanks and troops have tried to crush resistance to his authoritarian rule, activists said.

"The people want the overthrow of the regime!" demonstrators chanted in the Damascus suburb of Saqba, a witness said, defying violent repression in which 500 people have been killed since the nationwide protests broke out in Deraa last month.

Demonstrations erupted on Friday in the central cities of Homs and Hama, Banias on the Mediterranean coast, Qamishly in eastern Syria and Harashta, a Damascus suburb. Shots were heard in coastal Latakia and two small protests broke out in Damascus, witnesses, an opposition leader and a human rights group said.

In Deraa, Syrian soldiers fired shots in the air to prevent people attending Friday prayers or protesting, a resident told Reuters. Another said busloads of people were heading to Deraa from nearby villages, trying to converge for demonstrations.

"The snipers are on rooftops of buildings firing at anything that moves. They are preventing people from going to the streets," Abu Mohammad told Al Jazeera television.

As this is happening, the UN Human Rights Council is poised to make Syria a member.  Unbelievable.

The news from the Mideast is generally grim, with potential implications for the United States, the price of oil, terrorism, and peace.  The Palestinian Authority, which controls the West Bank, and the extremist group Hamas, which controls Gaza, have reached a reconciliation agreement, which means the Palestinian "government" will have a faction formally designated as "terrorist" by the United States.  That may have to mean a cutoff in American aid.  The agreement, which may or may not last, was brokered by Egypt, which is playing an increasingly unhelpful role in Mideast affairs.  Egypt is drifting further and further away from pro-Western policies, with Islamists gaining strength all the time.  It is moving toward normalizing relations with Iran, a serious blow to American influence. 

Libya?  Who knows what's happening.  It's been pushed off the front page.  But NATO is still engaged, and Gadaffi is still in power. 

Is anyone in Washington watching?  Wasn't Egypt a major ally just yesterday, and a major recipient of American aid?  Didn't we just return our ambassador to Syria because we thought the government was reformist? 

Anyone know how to play this game?  Not the president, apparently.

April 29, 2011