May 22, 2008
HATING THE WRONG REGIMES:
The Syrians Are Clever… And You're Not! (Tariq Alhomayed, 5/22/08, Asharq Al-awasat)
[T]oday I say that Syria has distracted you from the 2006 summer war by resorting to loud-voice policy, and what could be worse than that, without doing anything for the sake of Beirut. And over the past two years, Syria has preoccupied you with the cards: Amal, Hezbollah, and Hamas.And today we see Syria resuming its saga of accusations, mistrust and insults of Arab states, declaring that the Arab states forfeited the Palestinian cause when they met with [US President George W.] Bush at a time when Damascus was negotiating with [Israeli Prime Minister Ehud] Olmert over the Golan Heights alone – and with that it will have hurled the Palestinian cause into the abyss.
What is truly amusing is the Syrian description of [Secretary-General of the Arab League] Amr Moussa as a burdensome guest in Doha… Moussa who has preoccupied us with talk of the Arab ranks, Arab rights, and the smoothing over of the situation with Damascus!
Syria did not only preoccupy the Arab world with Lebanon; it also preoccupied the Iraqis with their security and caused them great suffering only to present them on a gold platter to the Iranians who are negotiating with the US over Iraq.
Syria presented itself as a resistance state when it is only a deceptive one. There is no fault in Damascus regaining the Golan Heights, but the question remains: In order to regain its land, must Syria occupy and ravage Lebanon and fragment the Palestinian camp and divide it internally?
The Syrians are clever because they have deceived Arab public opinion, which has already been deceived 60 years ago – and willingly.
The Israel/Assad partnership is appalling. Posted by Orrin Judd at May 22, 2008 6:41 PM
6 years ago, there was a school of thought that the Palestinian question would be better settled by removing Saddam ("the road to peace goes through Baghdad"). It certainly was a credible idea, more so than the blather about the Israeli-Palestinian problem being the root of all Middle Eastern problems.
But Damascus is the real issue. Killing Assad and the Ba'athists pushes Iran to the fringe, frees up Lebanon to vote its way forward, cuts off the most violent terror cells in Gaza and the West Bank, and forces Israel to deal with a 'cleaner' Syria. So what are we waiting for? Joe Lieberman to be President? This is Bush's biggest failure, both personally and politically. His policy of Sept. 14 ("and nations that harbor them") has fallen on its face regarding Syria.
Posted by: jim hamlen at May 23, 2008 7:37 AMOnly Israel and America will solve the Palestinian question, by recognizing a democratically elected, Hamas-run nation.
Assad should be done, like Saddam, because decency requires it.
Posted by: oj at May 23, 2008 8:12 AM