Is there more behind Bush’s strong words to Syria?

I love this post from Captain Ed wherein he reprints the comments from Daniel Schorr over at the Christian Science Monitor – who quotes the president as describing his plan to free Iraq and thus shake up the ME a month before the Iraq operation began. President Bush said then, of Operation Iraqi Freedom:

“The world has a clear interest in the spread of democratic values, because stable and free nations do not breed the ideologies of murder. They encourage the peaceful pursuit of a better life.”

Said Schorr:

The movements for democratic change in Egypt and Lebanon have happened since the successful Iraqi election on Jan. 30. And one can speculate on whether Iraq has served as a beacon for democratic change in the Middle East.

During the run-up to the invasion of Iraq, President Bush said that “a liberated Iraq can show the power of freedom to transform that vital region.”

He may have had it right.

Heh. Indeed.

It’s good to see folks like Schorr and Jon Stewart being honest in their appraisals. It’s healthy.

Below the Schorr piece, Ed also writes about President Bush’s remarks concerning Syria. To that I would add this link from the NY Post which tells the same story, but in a different tone, and then draw your attention to this article from something called Worldthreats, which seems to suggest a motive for President Bush’s firm stance. I simply put it out there for you – I don’t know who the writer is – this was passed on to me by a friend who seems to read literally everything – but his bio seems impressive.