North Korea And Syria

Those two countries are equally misunderstood by Washington, argues Tony Badran:

As with Pyongyang, Damascus’ calculations and priorities are clearly very different from what Western officials presume. What matters for the Syrian regime is pursuing the policies that best fit its self-image, one of the primary “key player” in the region — if not the nexus of the “five seas,” as Assad is fond of saying.

Just as the nuclear shakedown and the sale of nuclear and ballistic technologies are North Korea’s only currency, so too does support for extremist groups constitute Syria’s only asset in its quest to actualize the role it envisions itself playing

To put it in Washington terms: Terrorism for terrorism’s sake.