The Daily Star editorial

Trying to plot the performance of the Syrian authorities as they deal with the latest developments in their country’s crisis requires a bit of concentration.
On the one hand, a representative of the Syrian government in Cairo says the Arab League is pursuing the agenda of Western parties bent on Syria’s downfall. The allies of Damascus in Lebanon sound the same tune, decrying the role of the Arabs in Syria’s crisis, but Speaker Nabih Berri issues a call to Saudi Arabia for help.

Senior Syrian figures such as Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem say the Arab League is acting illegally, and “extremely dangerously,” in threatening to suspend Syria. This behavior is so dangerous that the Syrian government invites the Arab League to visit Syria and discuss the situation, amid the possibility of seeing Arab League monitors show up as well.

The Syrians say the Arab League is acting illegally, but in the next breath pledge to do all they can to help implement what the league wants. So, does this mean that the Syrians want to carry out an illegal and foreign-orchestrated agenda?

Moallem held court before the media in Damascus Monday and offered the usual rosy scenario, with little apparently worrying the authorities. Once again, an Arab official has the audacity to claim that his country is different from country X, where a popular uprising has led to dramatic results.

Moallem labeled the Arab League a tool of its “unofficial” member the United States; he added that only a few more days were needed to demonstrate that Syria was implementing the various items in the Arab League’s initiative to end the crisis.

During the two weeks that Syria had to carry out this plan, the most striking development has been the steadily mounting number of casualties. Nearly nine months after the protests first erupted, Moallem and his colleagues continue to put forward the same old line: It’s a foreign conspiracy. The killing that is taking place is the result of armed elements.
If 15 days wasn’t enough to see a change in the behavior of the Syrian authorities, why should they be given two more?

The Syrians are acting as if they have yet to realize the gravity of the situation. Perhaps they are wagering on their international support, whether it’s Russia or China, or countries in the region, such as Lebanon and Yemen, each for its own reason. But this support, especially from the great powers on the Security Council, is largely negative. It might stop direct military intervention in Syria by outside parties, but won’t help settle things for the rulers in Damascus.

Meanwhile, neighboring countries such as Jordan and Turkey are making their displeasure increasingly known. Further punishment and isolation are headed Syria’s way; the country is in a dilemma, while its officials appear to remain in a state of denial.