Arabs Urge Syria To Stop Backing Hezbollah

Interesting...

SIDON, Lebanon -- Mideast diplomats were pressing Syria to stop backing Hezbollah as guerrillas fired more deadly rockets at Israel's third-largest city yesterday. Israel faced tougher-than-expected ground battles and bombarded targets in southern Lebanon, hitting a convoy of refugees.

I don't think anything short of regime change in Syria will stop that country from backing Hezbollah, but it's nice to see some pressure for that coming from other countries in the middle east.

As I've asked before, would this sort of thing be happening had President Bush not taken firm action in the middle east after 9/11? If we hadn't toppled the oppressive, extremist regimes in Afghanistan and Iraq would these other Arab countries be moving toward moderation and urging moderation on their more rowdy neighbors, however imperfect it may be at this point?

I don't think so.

Bush's policies in the middle east are going to bring about some sea changes in the politics and attitudes of that region, and in the end I can't help but feel that history (unless the media succeeds in writing it to their specifications) will exonerate his actions from modern critics.