Another Slap-Down?

The U.S. President-Obama-led administration demonstrates its belief in the rationality of all humankind by appointing an ambassador to Syria, refreshing diplomatic relationships with the country halted by the assassination of Lebanon's former prime minister Rafiq al-Hariri, for whose death in a 2005 bomb blast Syria was blamed.

Now appears to be a good time to re-engage, so President Obama announced last week a new U.S. Ambassador to Damascus, Robert Ford. This is, after all, a new administration and a new president who has held out both an olive branch and an open hand to the Muslim world. The olive branch has been disdained as a Western trick and the open hand smacked down, repeatedly.

Hard-working, tough-talking Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has returned to Washington from Damascus where she spoke earnestly and sweetly with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad about restoring relations, moving toward a peace agreement with Israel, and moving away - far away, from current close relationships with Iran.

And with Hezbollah. And with Hamas. And hands off Lebanon. That kind of good advice coming from a source with Syria's best interests at heart.

It's gob-smacking amazing that President Assad is so ungraciously and so consciously an ingrate. Denying that his government does anything more than give moral support to Hezbollah and Hamas, and friends, after all, are friends; hard to come by and dear to the heart of peace-loving peoples of the world.

And in a response that resonated throughout the Middle East and the West as well, Syria's president along with that of Iran, had a friendly confab with one another. The nerve of the Great Satan, to think it could dictate to proud Islamic countries whom they may consort with, plan with, enjoy the power of subtle warnings to the world at large, with.

"We need to further reinforce relations if the true objective is stability. We do not want others to give us lessons on our region, our history", huffed President Assad from the joint news conference shared by his partner-in-peace, President Ahmadinejad. With mutual friend and ally Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah standing by for good measure.

"I am surprised how they can talk about stability and peace in the Middle East and call on two countries to distance themselves from one another", went the arch statement of disbelief at American encouragement to "begin to move away" from one another; utterly absurd given their common interests, common goals.

As for his part, President Ahmadinejad took great pleasure in inviting the United States to "pack up and leave the region", for nothing and no power could distance Syria and Iran from one another. And if the Little Satan does not settle down and sit back as it should and await its mushroom-cloud disintegration courtesy of Iran, then it will invite a more speedy dispatch.

"If the Zionist entity wants to repeat its past errors, its death will be inevitable", went the genial promise.