Shrinking

Bashar Assad's world just got a little smaller.

A Syrian fighter pilot flew his plane to Jordan on Thursday and asked for political asylum, the first defection of an air force pilot with his plane during the 15-month uprising against President Bashar Assad.

Jordanian Information Minister Sameeh Maaytah confirmed that the pilot had defected.
Initially, three Jordanian officials said the Russian-made MiG-21 made an emergency landing at the northern King Hussein Air Base in Mafraq, 43 miles north of the Jordanian capital and near the Syrian border.

The confusion underlined Jordanian concern about upsetting the Assad regime and being dragged into the Syrian conflict. The defection could have serious repercussions on relations between the two neighbors, who so far have maintained their business ties despite political tensions between them.

Assad's days are numbered and let's hope his sketchy wife goes down in flames with him.