On March 29, I woke to the news that the heads of almost every Arab state and Iran were speaking out in support of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, whose country had begun to feel the thaw of the “Arab Spring.” Never before did the realpolitik of foreign policy seem so nakedly apparent: regional and international leaders spout rhetoric endlessly when the occasion suits, but their strategic interests are laid bare when they are threatened. In every Arab country that has witnessed unrest, governing is led by the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs — not the ministries of economy, social works, health or education. Unsurprisingly, nothing in Arab leaders’ words of support for Assad portrayed any understanding of why the people were still uprising despite the hundreds of deaths, injuries and arrests. When Muammar al-Qadhafi began attacking his own people in Libya, his only steadfast support
