A Wall Street Journal editorial today makes the very valuable point that Syria is an enemy of the U.S. Given its role as a transit point for foreign fighters making their way into Iraq to kill American soldiers, its alliance with Hamas and Hezbollah, its alleged role in the assassination of Lebanese political officials and journalists, its support for terror in Iraq, Lebanon, Israel and the Palestinian territories, America has no reason to help preserve that regime. It doesn’t matter who follows Assad, if it’s an Islamist regime or Osama bin Laden himself, Syria can’t possibly be any more damaging to U.S. interests since the only limits the Assad regime observes are those imposed upon it by force.

The Journal suggests that the administration not only withdraw the U.S. ambassador to Damascus, Robert Ford, but also expel the Syrian envoy to Washington—the vainglorious Imad Mustafa, possibly the most toxic presence inside the Beltway. It was rumored a few years ago that the Bush administration contemplated tossing Mustafa out of the country when Damascus laid siege to U.S. allies in Lebanon and meddled in the Iraq war. Somehow Mustafa got a pass then, but it’s time for him to go now. The White House doesn’t need our diplomatic corps, never mind Syria’s, to send tough messages to a regime that only understands extremely tough messages. Sending Mustafa packing would be a good first step.