NYT Buries the Lede on Syrian Unrest

The NYT Should know better.
Beirut correspondent Nada Bakri's key point in her article today didn't come until the fifth and sixth paragraphs [in bold italics]:

Infused with new energy after watching the violent televised downfall of Libya’s longtime autocrat, thousands of Syrians poured into the streets of their own country after noon prayers on Friday and demanded the same fate for President Bashar al-Assad, residents and activists reported.

It was yet another show of defiance in Syria against the government of Mr. Assad, who has never hesitated to use deadly force to suppress the five-month-old uprising that has threatened his grip on power. The rebellion in Libya that sent Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi fleeing from his fortified enclave in Tripoli seemed to give the Syrian protesters fresh enthusiasm.

“Qaddafi is gone; it is your turn, Bashar!” demonstrators screamed, according to accounts relayed from Syria, which has banned most foreign news organizations from reporting inside the country. Others shouted, “Bye-bye, Qaddafi. Bashar is next!” and “Bashar, we don’t love you, even if you turn night into day!”

The Friday demonstrations, the last in the holy month of Ramadan, came as Russia and China, Syria’s allies, tried to foil a proposal by the United States and European nations to impose Security Council sanctions on Mr. Assad’s government for its crackdown. Russia introduced a rival resolution calling on Mr. Assad’s government to accelerate reforms, but making no mention of the tougher sanctions sought by the United States and its European Union allies.

Western diplomats criticized the Russian resolution as a tactical maneuver that was meaningless as a deterrent. Mark Kornblau, a spokesman for the United States Mission to the United Nations, said, “The regime’s violence has continued unabated, the international condemnation has grown louder and the Security Council’s response should reflect those realities.”

In a sign of Mr. Assad’s growing isolation, Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of the militant group Hezbollah, called on Syria to introduce reforms and said that the unrest there would have major implications on the region if not solved peacefully. The Iranian-backed Shiite group in Lebanon has been one of Mr. Assad’s strongest allies.

In previous remarks Mr. Nasrallah has always offered support for the Syrian leadership, and his group adopted the government version of events there: that it is battling foreign armed groups.

The reason that Nasrallah's backpedaling from full support lies in the fact that Hassan Nasrallah's Hezbollah is a wholly-owned subsidiary of its Iranian masters. If even the Iranians are getting cold feet, some sober reassessment is becoming necessary for Bashar Al-Assad and his allies.

If one reads the rest of the article, it is apparent that the Syrian snipers and killer-goons [who are responsible for all the shooting of Syrian soldiers who refuse to fire on the populace] are being held back in check. A few in the far east on the Euphrates at Deir Ez-Zeir obviously didn't get the memo and killed innocent demonstrators anyway.