SYRIA BURNS – AT 11:06 A.M. ET:  It is amazing how little attention is being given to the ongoing revolt in Syria, one of the most important Arab countries, and Iran's closest ally in the Mideast.  But this is turning into a major tragedy, with substantial implications for the future of the region.  From Reuters:

AMMAN - Syrian troops stormed houses in the city of Hama on Monday as thousands of residents took to the streets shouting "God is greater" in defiance of a government crackdown on recent large protests, residents said.

"At least 30 buses carrying soldiers and security police entered Hama this morning. They are firing randomly in residential neighborhoods," one of the residents, a workshop owner who gave his name as Ahmad, said by telephone...

...Tanks deployed in Hama on Sunday but later pulled back, residents said, two days after the city witnessed the largest protest against the 11-year rule of Syrian President Bashar Assad since an uprising demanding political freedoms and Assad's removal began nearly four months ago.

COMMENT:  Assad's father also sent military forces into Hama in 1982 to crush an uprising.  That action killed thousands, possibly as many as 30,000. 

Usually, Arabs choose Friday as their day of protest.  The fact that protests are spreading to other days of the week, and are being met by gunfire, is an ominous sign for the future.  Thus far, the Syrian regime is only getting some tut-tutting and minor sanctions from the West.  President Obama seems completely disengaged.  His administration says that the president of Syria is losing his legitimacy, and the president of Syria simply ignores us.  Change we can't believe in.

July 4, 2011