Western symbolism and Arab silence likely to backfire in Syria

A Syrian man living in Jordan gestures as he shouts slogans against Syria's President Bashar Al Assad during a demonstration in front of the Syrian embassy in Amman. (File Photo)

By JAMES M. DORSEY
AL ARABIYA

The half a million protesters gathered in Hama on Friday to demand the downfall of Bashar Al Assad have shown their mettle in the face of a brutal cr…