Christian Science Monitor advocates for sanctions against Syria

In an commentary titled, Bush's tipping point with Syria, The Christian Science Monitor declares that recent developments concerning Syria have culminated into another test of the Bush Doctrine, which among other things, calls for "drying up support for terrorism by democratizing Islamic nations."

• The article briefly surveys recent developments with regards to the Mehlis report
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• It articulates what appears to be the Bush administration's current strategy towards Syria: "Trying to play relatively good guys off bad guys within the Damascus establishment to either buy time or instigate an internal coup."
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• And, it highlights the fact that American military resources and international good-will are stretched too thin to allow for force to be a feasible option.

The commentary is sound up to this point. It's conclusion though, is considerably disturbing:

International economic sanctions would send a message to the regime as well as to Syrians that they, too, can help lift the Arab world by relying on ballots instead of bombs.

Okay never mind the fact that a "Christian" publication is advocating for economic sanctions as a foreign policy tool (a tool that not only failed to accomplish a similar policy objective in Iraq, but also lead to the deaths of thousands of children among tens of thousands of civilians); it also assumes that the tool will actually succeed in "helping to lift the Arab world by convincing 'Syrians' to rely on ballots instead of bombs."

That statement presumes that the Syrian people prefer bombs over ballots!!! It also implies that had it not been for ten years of murderous sanctions on Iraqis, they would not have chosen to vote in recent elections and referenda, but would rather be killing each other with even greater intensity than what we are whitnessing today.

That, my friends, is shoddy thinking coming from what I otherwise consider to be a respectable publication.