Blind optimism . . . or something else?

Amidst the doom and gloom of Monday morning news stories, I found something intriguing.  Apparently credibly Syrian sources, gathering in London, are claiming that Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime is doomed:

In 'unprecedented' conference held in British capital, former vice president claims 'people are hungry, their welfare robbed by corrupt elite.'
 
Efforts to bring down Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime have gained momentum in a public conference being held by his exiled opponents in London. The conference is chaired by former Vice President Abdel Halim Khaddam, who predicted that the days of the Syrian president were numbered.

Talking to a London Times reporter, under heavy security, Khaddam claimed that the corruption and the exploitation of power distanced Assad Jr. from Syrian citizens.
 
"This regime is doomed," the exiled politician ruled. "He must use harsh oppression means, while the people are hungry and see their welfare being robbed by the corrupt elite."
 
The front headed by 74-year-old Khaddam claims that it is supported by 75 senior figures from across the Syrian political spectrum, who are currently in exile, including members of the Muslim Brotherhood movement, which is illegal in Damascus.

There have, of course, been noises about this ever since Rafik Hariri's assassination, but this is the first time that politicians — normally the most conservative of all actors — have gathered together publicly to make noises about Assad's downfall.  Although Syria gets little press, there is no doubt that it was one of the major fomenters of trouble in the Middle East.  It's one of Iran's favorite allies (here's just one small example of their buddy-buddy behavior); and, acting in concert with its friend Iran, it finances Hezbollah, which is a major player in stirring up trouble between Israel and the Palestinians. 

Of course, since nothing is perfect, it is a little unnerving to see that this very public anti-Assad cabal includes the notorious, and very well-established, Muslim Brotherhood, which has committed itself to seeing a Caliphate established in the United States.  Still, one possible victory at a time.  With regimes as repressive and corrupt as those in Syria and Iran, I think it is only a matter of time before they implode.  The question then, of course, is whether the resulting wreckage gives birth to some semblance of a liberal democracy, or whether the resulting "cur"e is worse than the sickness.

Talking to Technorati: Syria, Assad, Hezbollah, Muslim Brotherhood, Hisbollah