War (of Words) with Syria
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Thursday, May 01, 2003
[Analysis and opinion on the value of Syrian economic and political reform in the face of US pressure.]
What Must Syria Do To Defend Itself?
Dar al hayat (Lebanon) -- May 2
Patrick Seale
Syria must now reform under external pressure. Respect for the rule of law, the granting of political and economic freedoms, responsible government and greater accountability - these must surely be Syria's best defense lines at this critical time. President Bashar al-Assad came to power promising reform. He now deserves all possible support as he steers Syria through the dangers ahead.
[Mobilize your base.]
Poll: Some would support attack on Syria
UPI -- May 1
By Lou Marano
WASHINGTON -- A surprisingly high percentage of Republicans polled would favor a military attack on Syria if President Bush believes it has been trying to make chemical or biological weapons, supporting terrorism, and giving sanctuary to Iraqi leaders.
Fully 53 percent of those who identified themselves as Republicans among 2,179 adults the Harris Poll surveyed online nationwide between April 17 and April 23 responded to this question in the affirmative. Harris Interactive said it used the same methods to forecast the 2000 elections with great accuracy, and it is "very confident" that the data are representative of the U.S. population. The results were released Thursday.
[Another article on the Druze/IDF kidnap plan.]
Four Druze accused of plotting to kidnap IDF soldier
Ha'aretz -- April 28
By Uri Ash
Charges were filed Monday morning against four Druze men from the Golan Heights village of Bukata accused of plotting to kidnap an Israel Defense Forces soldier and then to transfer him to Hezbollah in Syria to serve as a bargaining chip for the release of Palestinian prisoners.
[Pay site, just the abstract is free.]
Druse village shocked by terror allegations against four residents
Jerusalem Post April 30
DAVID RUDGE
Jerusalem -- The arrest of four Golan Heights [Druse] men on suspicion of coordinating with Hamas officials in Gaza to kidnap an IDF soldier and hand him over to Hizbullah came as a surprise to many, especially residents of their village.
"I know the feelings of the residents of Bukata and of all the Druse villages on the Golan Heights, the religious leaders and ...
[Powell's comments in Spain on Israel/Palestine and Syria.]
Powell: Don't Derail Mideast Peace Plans
The Associated Press via New York Times -- May 1
MADRID -- Secretary of State Colin Powell warned Israel and the Palestinian Authority on Thursday against letting violence ``immediately contaminate the road map'' toward peace that President Bush has offered.
Powell spoke after meeting with Spanish Foreign Minister Ana Palacio in Madrid -- the place where the ``road map'' first began taking shape a year ago between the United States, the European Union, the United Nations and Russia.
Later Thursday, Powell was to have dinner with Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar. He then heads to Albania on Friday and then to Syria, where he will meet with the foreign minister and President Bashar Assad. Those talks are a prelude to another Mideast journey by Powell next week for talks with Abbas and Sharon. [What about Lebanon? Lebanese papers have expressed concern that the 3 hour stop-over in Beirut might be dropped from the itinerary.]
In Syria, Powell said he intends to take up U.S. allegations that Syria supports terrorism, the ``changed strategic situation'' in the Middle East now that Saddam Hussein is gone from power, and the movement of wanted Iraqi leaders across the border into Syria after war was under way in Iraq.
The fact that Syria now has a different Iraq as a neighbor, plus the road map and the new Palestinian leadership, ``is a new strategic dynamic that they should consider,'' Powell said. He said he expects his sessions in Syria to be ``rather full and candid,'' but he is not seeking any specific outcome.
``It's an opportunity to review where we are,'' Powell said.
[Signs of conciliation from Syria. Analysis of issues expected to be covered in Powell's meeting.]
U.S. - Syrian Ties Face Critical Moment
The Associated Press via The New York Times -- May 1
DAMASCUS, Syria -- In the days before Secretary of State Colin Powell's visit to Damascus, Syria has given indications it wants to avoid a collision course with Washington.
It has sealed its border with Iraq. It has expelled more than 30 Iraqis, many from Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit. It coordinated with the Americans the departure from Syria of one-time Iraqi intelligence official Farouk Hijazi, who is now in U.S. custody.
And its state-run newspapers are putting a positive spin on Powell's trip, scheduled to begin Friday.
``We hope that Powell's visit would achieve the hoped-for positive results and would be a real start for U.S.-Syrian relations,'' the daily Al-Thawra said Wednesday.
Syria: Powell to be welcomed for dialogue
UPI -- May 1
By Dalal Saoud
BEIRUT, Lebanon -- Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk Sharaa said Thursday U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell was being welcomed in Damascus to hold a dialogue to repair damaged ties.
He told reporters in Beirut: "We welcome Mr. Powell in Damascus and he will naturally receive the adequate hospitality. All what we wish to hear from him, he can relay to us in a form of dialogue and explain what is going on in the region on the bases of the declared positions from the United States and Syria."
On Thursday, Sharaa said Syria will be ready to answer U.S. questions "in a spirit that does not derive from a state of enmity or fulfillment of others' demands."
Asked about U.S. demands to disarm Lebanon's militant Hezbollah group, which Syria backs, and cease support for Damascus-based Palestinian militant groups, Sharaa said: "I won't answer any question related to demands because we did not hear these demands and no one asked us these matters."
He said part of the "intimidation campaign" against Syria was being led by media networks that he didn't identify, and Sharaa warned that "we should not bow to that degree about repeated demands being presented by Israel to Washington and then Washington reflecting them in some media."
He said Hezbollah was a Lebanese political party and Lebanese officials were better placed to answer any U.S. queries about it.
But he said: "Attention should be directed to the Israeli occupation in the first degree before it is being directed to those who resist occupation."
Syria-Based Palestinian Group Slams 'Road Map'
Reuters -- May 1
DAMASCUS - A radical Palestinian group based in Syria on Thursday criticized the "road map," the new Middle East peace plan, as being "unbalanced" and said it gave Israel the upper hand.
"The implementation of the plan is based on successive rather than parallel steps by both sides, thus leaving control in the hands of the government of (Prime Minister Ariel) Sharon..." the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) said in a statement.
The DFLP, one of several Palestinian factions that support the 31-month-old uprising for independence as a legitimate form of struggle for freedom, said the terms of the plan would "leave Palestinians under the force of the occupation tanks, arrests and assassinations."
Lebanon rejects French call
IRIB (Iran) -- May 1
Beirut - Lebanon rejected French calls on Wednesday for a complete withdrawal of Syrian forces from its territory, with Foreign Minister Jean Obeid saying it was a matter solely between the two countries.
French Foriegn Minister Dominique De Villepin had called in a phone call to Damascus for Syria to leave Lebanon.
But Obeid told reporters tersely: "Syria's military presence in Lebanon, which France links to an overall solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict, only concerns Beirut and Damascus and their mutual interests.
"Their presence is set out in the inter-Lebanese peace agreement of Taif, supported by the United Nations and the Arab League.
It is also a feature of the treaty of fraternity, cooperation and coordination signed between Lebanon and Syria."
[Do the Israelis have to make their demands on the US so obvious? The word for today is "subtlety". Look it up, Ayalon.]
Israeli envoy urges regime change in Syria and Iran
The Guardian -- April 29
Oliver Burkeman in Washington
Israel's ambassador to the US called for "regime change" in Iran and Syria yesterday as players in the Middle East staked out their positions before a crucial Palestinian vote that is expected to trigger publication of the American-backed "road map" to peace.
Removing Saddam Hussein was "not enough", said Daniel Ayalon. But war against Syria and Iran was not the answer, he added, advocating isolating them diplomatically, imposing economic sanctions and using "psychological pressure".
The war in Iraq "has to follow through", he told a conference in Washington of the Anti-Defamation League, an organisation that campaigns against anti-semitism. "We still have great threats of that magnitude coming from Syria, coming from Iran."