October 5, 2005

SYRIA'S STOCKHOLM SYNDROME:

Syria trying to court Washington (Samar Kadi, Oct. 5, 2005, UPI)

A U.S. team that recently visited Damascus carried back to Washington a Syrian proposal to help the United States in Iraq, reports said Wednesday.

Saudi daily newspaper Al-Sharq al-Awsat quoted a U.S. source as saying the team of moderate Republicans and retired military officers returned from Syria with a proposal that Syria would cooperate "effectively" to achieve stability in Iraq, in return for the United States "guaranteeing Iraq's Arab identity and refraining from destabilizing Syria."

The Syrians also expressed their readiness to name an ambassador to Baghdad and to open an embassy immediately "to prove their good intentions."

You don't have to grovel to get the U.S. off your back, just start the transition to liberal democracy.

Posted by Orrin Judd at October 5, 2005 8:50 AM
Comments

This may simply be Baby Assad trying to take up the Yassir Arafat stratgery used during the Clinton Administration, of promising the U.S. reforms would be made and then never following through except to offer up new promises during the next visit to the White House. But since Bush has followed the "Don't you lie to me," policy he first outlined to Tom Daschele and then used on Arafat, Syria doesn't figure to get too far if this offer actually is just a ploy.

Posted by: John at October 5, 2005 9:02 AM

Thrust, but terrify!

Posted by: obc at October 5, 2005 9:42 AM

Assad & Co. need to learn the iron law of avalanches: leave, don't argue. The avalanche has been started, and they think they can sweet talk it into stopping?

Posted by: Luciferous at October 5, 2005 11:12 AM

Reminds me of the road signs in the Canadian Rockies:

NO STOPPING - AVALANCHES!

I always maintained that if I saw an avalanche, I'd sure as hell stop, rather than drive through it.

Posted by: obc at October 5, 2005 11:52 AM

All this means is that Syria has become convinced that the insurrection has lost, and that Iraq will stabilize and the constitution will past. Their hoping to win some concessions simply because they're letting us know that they know this now. They're not actually doing us any favors.

Posted by: Chris Durnell at October 5, 2005 11:55 AM
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