It was absurd for former U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan to believe that his recent diplomatic efforts would persuade Syrian President Bashar Assad to enter into negotiations on ending Assad's brutal crackdown against his own people.
So far, Assad's regime is believed to be responsible for the overwhelming majority of roughly 8,000 deaths during an uprising that has engulfed Syria in recent months. Most of those killed were civilians, and their deaths are widely believed to have been unjustified.
So Assad's actions have shown his mindset: He aims to keep dictatorial power in Syria no matter what the cost in innocent human life.
That is why it was so naive for Annan to think he could convince Assad of the need for "talks" on halting the oppression in Syria. If anything, Assad intensified his assault on the Syrian people in the wake of Annan's visit.
That highlights one of the fundamental flaws of the U.N.: It seems to feel that any regime, however vicious, can be persuaded to become peaceful and to promote human rights and freedom through negotiations.
History both before and since the founding of the U.N. proves otherwise. Negotiations and concessions to totalitarian regimes - whether Nazi Germany or modern-day Syria or Communist North Korea - only buy them time to redouble their repression, while innocent people continue to die.
Syria does not appear to pose a direct threat to U.S. security, so it would obviously be unwise for our nation to intervene there militarily, however repressive the Assad regime may be. Difficult as it is, the Syrian people themselves ultimately will have to find a way to end Assad's brutality.
But in the meantime, it is cruel for the U.N. to hold out the false hope that its requests for Assad to engage in negotiations create any serious prospect of bringing peace to Syria.