The document says that Syria's legislative elections, scheduled for March 2007, "provide a potentially galvanizing issue for... critics of the Assad regime." To capitalize on that opportunity, the document proposes a secret "election monitoring" scheme, in which "internet accessible materials will be available for printing and dissemination by activists inside the country [Syria] and neighboring countries." The proposal also calls for surreptitiously giving money to at least one Syrian politician who, according to the document, intends to run in the election.

I don't know how to comment on this, except wait, I do. Bashir Assad was trained as an opthamologist and took over the Syrian government when his father died. He is generally seen as a moderating force between his hardline military and his equally hardline, albeit in a different direction, civillian government. I'm quite sure with a little pushing we could get Assad out. I am also quite sure the results of doing so would be a debacle somewhat worse that the Bay of Pigs, but probably not as bad as the current situation in Iraq. Unfortunately, with Syria right next to Mess O' Potamia, I think it's safe to say it would have a multiplicative effect.

If the White House pushes ahead with this, the only way we're getting a result even marginally favorable to the United States is if the entire region is nuked into a giant plain of fused glass.