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Source: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4060199,00.html
The Villains from Damascus
(Ynet News) Mordechai Nisan - The fall of the Assad regime in Damascus would be a great blessing for the Middle East and the world. The list of Syria's crimes is legion. As godfather and patron of Palestinian terrorism, Hafez the father and Bashar the son crafted a policy strategy that demonized Israel, consolidated the regional hegemony of Iran, and perpetuated an Alawite sectarian regime in defiance of the Sunni Muslim majority in the country. The Assads persecuted the Kurds, intimidated the Druze, and despoiled the tiny Jewish community. Syria was responsible for a ruthless and bloodthirsty occupation of Lebanon in 1976 that only seemingly ended in 2005, as well as a series of Syrian assassinations of key Christian Lebanese personalities. Syria's torturing of Israeli POWs after the 1973 Yom Kippur War should never be forgotten. When and if the Assad regime falls, the collapse of Iranian hegemony across the region may not be far behind. Losing its strategic hinterland and ideological benefactor, Hizbullah too will suffer a blow. The writer taught Middle East Studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.