Sami Moubayed and "Liberating" the Golan

A fellow named Sami Moubayed is a blogger for the Huffington Post as well as the editor of The Forward, one of Syria's top English language magazines (not the American Jewish one). As you might expect, he splits his articles between discussing what's going on in Syria, even before the uprisings, and what's going on in Israel, because what else is there to talk about on the HuffPo. His latest article is titled, "Only a Democracy Can Liberate the Golan," and the title more or less tells you everything you need to know. After a review of Syrian history and its "culture of resistance" (surprise surprise), he strongly endorses Syrian democracy:

"The democracy they aspire for is one where a state of law prevails, where there is no nepotism or corruption, and where the undeniable rights of every Syrian citizen are respected and upheld by the government. Democracy means freedom of speech, thought and conduct. "

After that he finally gets to the Golan, near the end of the article.

"Another reality that needs to be understood is that a people who are free and dignified are more likely to liberate the Golan -- and help bring statehood to the Palestinians -- than a people who are not."

Oh, okay. You mean a democracy of free Syrians is going to be more moderate and likely to make peace with Israel in exchange for the Golan Heights, as dictated by UN Resolution 242. Right, Mr. Moubayed?

 "The Syrians believe that Syria is a small country with a big brand, a brand that rejects Israel and which since March 2011, wants to live in a democracy..."

"Democracy will help strengthen the brand called Syria and will create a culture of resistance that is unprecedented in the Arab world. It is foolish to believe that if/when the Baath is no longer 'leader of state and society,' Syria would crumble before international pressure to sign peace with Israel or automatically transform into a Mubarak-like Egypt. On the contrary, the exact opposite will happen to Syria, because of the will and might of the Syrian people."

Um...did Sami Moubayed just call for another Syrian war against Israel? And the Huffington Post just gave him a platform with which to do it?

Read the whole thing and tell me I'm wrong. Please.