ALWAYS EASIER TO GET A KID TO EAT CARROTS IF YOU'RE HOLDING A STICK:

The Libya option for Syria (Ronald Bruce St John, 12/15/05, Foreign Policy in Focus)

The Bush administration continues to talk about applying the "Libya option" to Syria. In itself, this would be an excellent idea. The problem is the White House took the wrong lessons from Libya's decision to renounce weapons of mass destruction and rejoin the international community. The Libya model may yet provide a path through the Syrian imbroglio, but only if applied correctly. [...]

In March 2003, weeks before the invasion of Iraq, Libyan officials approached the British government, initiating talks with Great Britain and the United States aimed at dismantling Libya's unconventional weapons programs. Nine months later, Libyan Foreign Minister Mohammed Abderrahman Chalgram announced Libya's decision to renounce weapons of mass destruction, emphasizing his country had decided of its own "free will" to be completely free of internationally banned weapons. Gaddafi and other Libyan officials stressed this point in later statements.

One clear lesson to be taken from the Libyan model is the power of engagement as opposed to containment.

Actually, the Libya breakthrough required a series of convergent events and tactics -- getting caught red-handed violating international law, watching Saddam be pulled from his spider-hole, a European power to negotiate surrender with instead of the U.S. -- almost all of which are likewise present in Syria, except the most important: despite early hopes, Baby Assad is no Saif al-Islam

Posted by Orrin Judd at December 14, 2005 7:57 AM