Jan. 3, 2006 1:15
The UN commission's request to question the Syrian president himself about the murder of former Lebanese premier Rafik Hariri leaves no room for doubt: The noose is tightening around Bashar Assad.
First, he struck an alliance with Saddam Hussein, thus not only betraying his father's legacy, but also defying international gravity. Then, he threw his weight around in Lebanon, failing to understand that the days when Damascus could murder prominent figures like president-elect Bashir Jemayel with impunity had long gone. While at it, he managed to antagonize France, his most natural, veteran and indispensable Western ally.
And now, deposed vice president Abdul-Halim Khaddam's testimony indicates that Bashar Assad antagonized not only much of the Middle East, Europe and America, but even his father's immediate circle.
If Monday's request actually leads them to Assad's palace, the UN's investigators may wonder whether the soft-spoken, weak-chinned man they will face is actually the leader of the clan whose mixture of patronage, intrigue and bloodshed has made many compare it with the Corleone family, the cinematic underworld legend.
The Hariri murder investigators should therefore be advised that what they will see is how the Corleone saga would have unfolded had the Godfather been succeeded neither by Sonny nor by Michael, but by Fredo, the weak son who lacked the eldest one's ferocity and the youngest's wisdom.
