?They try to kill all the principles of divine faiths with the same mentality of the betraying of Jesus Christ and torturing him, and in the same way that they tried to commit treachery against Prophet Mohammad.?? Bashar al-Assad, president of Syria, May 2001
There is no mistaking what Assad told the world about the Jewish people upon greeting the Pope at Damascus International Airport, but what is he saying now? Syria?s president spent part of a two-hour interview with the New York Times? Neil MacFarquhar calling on the United States to help revive negotiations with Israel.
Is he serious? Well, an off-the-cuff statement may well betray his real feelings: ?As I said, Syrian-American relations for some reason fluctuate in diffeent periods of time. Whenever the Syrian relations deteriorated with (the) United States, invariably, it was the Israeli factor that caused that deterioration.
?What do I mean by the Israeli factor? It could be Israeli influence or effect in the United States through the lobby, or it could be the complete biased attitude of the Americans toward the Israeli government.?
Here?s the revealing part of this quote: ?In fact, if you take the Israeli element out of the picture, I cannot see the difference between Syria and the U.S.; there are no differences between Syria and the United States about what we want to achieve in the region.?
If you don?t get the point yet, think of a key turning point in a movie that will be frequently aired in the next three weeks, It?s a Wonderful Life. In the crucial scene, James Stewart?s George Bailey is so tortured by a crisis that he wishes he was never born.
Clarence, his guardian angel, wonders: What would happen if George had never been born? He then decides to show George how he never would have been able to touch so many lives had he never been born.
Thus, what if Israel had never been born? Or to word it Assad?s way: ?If you take the Israeli element out of the picture??
What else could it mean? Deep down, it sounds like wishful thinking on Assad?s part.
So, why would Assad even consider associating with people who would ?commit treachery against Prophet Mohammad??
How can Assad be trusted? Well, as long as he has a gun to his head, then he can be trusted. That gun, collectively, is the 100,000 American troops deployed in Iraq to the east of Syria and the Syrian Accountability Act, which Congress passed and President Bush has yet to sign as of this writing.
Can Assad ignore the presence of the American military next door in a country that nine months ago was ruled by an enemy of Israel? If Assad was to initiate aggression against Israel now, Syria?s military would likely be crushed by both the American and Israeli armies. Politically, the Syrian Accountability Act calls for various sanctions against Syria for such alleged acts as sponsoring terrorist organizations and arming Saddam Hussein.
An outreach to Israel at this time is a wise move, considering Assad?s vulnerable situation.
Yet, many of his comments in the Times piece suggest that such outreach is being done grudgingly at best: ?There can be no peace in the region without Syria.? Or: ?The problem is whether the U.S. is going to become a power for achieving turbulence in the region instead of being an element of stability.?
Peace? Turbulence? Syria could have afforded Israel peace long ago by not creating turbulence. This guy is talking out of both sides of his mouth.
Besides, what will Israel get out of it? What would Israel get out of giving up the Golan Heights at this stage? Syria is far less a threat than it once was. One must wonder if Assad will follow through with trade relations and establishment of an embassy in Israel.
Maybe Assad will in the end act the statesman, but really, why else would he want anything to do with a nation of demons?
There is no mistaking what Assad told the world about the Jewish people upon greeting the Pope at Damascus International Airport, but what is he saying now? Syria?s president spent part of a two-hour interview with the New York Times? Neil MacFarquhar calling on the United States to help revive negotiations with Israel.
Is he serious? Well, an off-the-cuff statement may well betray his real feelings: ?As I said, Syrian-American relations for some reason fluctuate in diffeent periods of time. Whenever the Syrian relations deteriorated with (the) United States, invariably, it was the Israeli factor that caused that deterioration.
?What do I mean by the Israeli factor? It could be Israeli influence or effect in the United States through the lobby, or it could be the complete biased attitude of the Americans toward the Israeli government.?
Here?s the revealing part of this quote: ?In fact, if you take the Israeli element out of the picture, I cannot see the difference between Syria and the U.S.; there are no differences between Syria and the United States about what we want to achieve in the region.?
If you don?t get the point yet, think of a key turning point in a movie that will be frequently aired in the next three weeks, It?s a Wonderful Life. In the crucial scene, James Stewart?s George Bailey is so tortured by a crisis that he wishes he was never born.
Clarence, his guardian angel, wonders: What would happen if George had never been born? He then decides to show George how he never would have been able to touch so many lives had he never been born.
Thus, what if Israel had never been born? Or to word it Assad?s way: ?If you take the Israeli element out of the picture??
What else could it mean? Deep down, it sounds like wishful thinking on Assad?s part.
So, why would Assad even consider associating with people who would ?commit treachery against Prophet Mohammad??
How can Assad be trusted? Well, as long as he has a gun to his head, then he can be trusted. That gun, collectively, is the 100,000 American troops deployed in Iraq to the east of Syria and the Syrian Accountability Act, which Congress passed and President Bush has yet to sign as of this writing.
Can Assad ignore the presence of the American military next door in a country that nine months ago was ruled by an enemy of Israel? If Assad was to initiate aggression against Israel now, Syria?s military would likely be crushed by both the American and Israeli armies. Politically, the Syrian Accountability Act calls for various sanctions against Syria for such alleged acts as sponsoring terrorist organizations and arming Saddam Hussein.
An outreach to Israel at this time is a wise move, considering Assad?s vulnerable situation.
Yet, many of his comments in the Times piece suggest that such outreach is being done grudgingly at best: ?There can be no peace in the region without Syria.? Or: ?The problem is whether the U.S. is going to become a power for achieving turbulence in the region instead of being an element of stability.?
Peace? Turbulence? Syria could have afforded Israel peace long ago by not creating turbulence. This guy is talking out of both sides of his mouth.
Besides, what will Israel get out of it? What would Israel get out of giving up the Golan Heights at this stage? Syria is far less a threat than it once was. One must wonder if Assad will follow through with trade relations and establishment of an embassy in Israel.
Maybe Assad will in the end act the statesman, but really, why else would he want anything to do with a nation of demons?