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SYRIA!
Yes, we all know it; the signs are right there in front of our face: Rumsfeld is threatening them, a "Saddam and his sons and their WMD are hiding in Syria" story is already being developed, pollsters are feeling out American opinion regarding a Syrian invasion, and the Fox News ticker went out of its way to point out that Syrian television did not show any images of the jubilant fall of Baghdad.
An invasion of Syria would definitely fit into the Bush Middle Eastern long-term strategy: Syria, like Iraq, is ruled by the Baath Party, is anti-American and nationalistic, has a large influence on Middle Eastern events (including being the main political influence in Lebanon, which borders Israel and contains Hezbollah) and supports terrorism. It's too early to take on Iran: the hope is still that the student and moderate movement will oust the mullahs, sparing the mess of a U.S. invasion, but, as long as we've got our Army all unpacked, we might as well do some work.
The main problem: it was actually pretty easy to sell Saddam Hussein as the biggest threat to America, regardless of lack of connection to Al Qaeda: we all remember him from that show that was on after Married...With Children 12 years ago. Hell, we've still got a few of those So Long, Saddam T-shirts in the closet. Two generations of Bushes have called him the next Hitler. How, though, do you get a war boner going amongst the American people for Bashara Assad? Sure, he's a bloodthirsty tyrant just like Saddam, but no one knows who the hell he is. Also, he doesn't have that menacing Saddam look; the beret, the epulets, the random-firing-of-rifles-off-of-balconies thing. He tends to wear tasteful suits, lacks the Saddam dictator-gut, and his moustache is not nearly as ridiculous as Husseins. Oh well, I'm sure we'll whip up something.
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