Latest News: UN Accuses Syria

Breaking news from the excellent BBC site, revealing that the second UN report on the murder of Rafik Hariri confirms Syrian officials are key suspects in the inquiry. The report goes on to urge Damascus to arrest Syrian suspects, calling that country's co-operation in the case as "slow-paced".

All this against the back-drop of another assassination of a Syrian critic in Lebanon. Gibran Tueni an MP and journalist owned a popular liberal newspaper in Beruit and had been outspoken in his condemnation of the al-Assad regime. As Syria Comment Plus notes, all this is political suicide for President Bashar if he is in fact involved.

Tueini's popularity in Lebanon is bound to make certain issues resurface such as the resignation of Emile Lahoud, Lebanon's president whose complete and utter allegiance is to the Syrian regime and the issue of an international tribunal to hold those suspected of killing Hariri accountable.

The regime fails to see that the tide has gone against them. The spread of Democracy into Iraq, Egypt and to a lesser extent nations such as Jordan and Kuwait means these old style dictatorships are doomed. A million Lebanese people did not pour on to the streets of Beirut to denounce the Ba'ath only to be intimidated by car bombings. The forces of democracy are too strong. Therefore I feel it is appropriate to close with an image that shows al-Assad just what he's up against to survive. Long live Democracy!