A TAD TOO SUBTLE:

Instilling democracy in Mideast (Claude Salhani, 11/11/2003, UPI)

Many Washington insiders, particularly among neo-conservatives close to Bush believe the United States should adopt a "de-Baathification" policy on Syria, which they accuse of supporting terrorism.

Since the start of the war in Iraq last March, Damascus has never completely fallen off Washington's political radar. The United States has accused President Bashar Assad's government of assisting the Iraqi military, allowing Islamist jihadis across the border into Iraq, and of hiding Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction, offering that as one explanation why those were never found in Iraq.

But as Imad Mustafa, a senior Syrian diplomat in Washington said to United Press International shortly after the fall of Baghdad, "Are we that crazy to open the gates of hell upon us?" [...]

As Washington pursues its war on terrorism, the argument can be made for maintaining relations with Damascus instead of distancing it from Washington, seeing continued relations would allow the United States to pressure Syria, who in turn could pressure and maintain greater control over the groups accused of carrying out terror acts.

Sanctions on Damascus would be received as a diplomatic slap in the face by the Syrians, and would spell the end of cooperation between Syrian and U.S. intelligence services, which has been moving smoothly since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington. As attacks against U.S. troops in Iraq escalate -- averaging 35-40 a day -- and U.S. soldiers die at the rate of nearly one a day, it would not serve American interests to lose that cooperation.

This is all terribly confusing. If Syria controls groups that use terror aren't they a terrorist nation? And if it would be crazy for them to "open the gates of hell" by hiding WMD, why wouldn't it be crazy for them to open those gates by resisting our increased pressure? Oh yeah, aand why not open the gates of hell on them just on general principle?

Posted by Orrin Judd at November 11, 2003 9:06 PM