Unfortunately, some decision-makers in Israel feel that "peace" with Syria is possible. The issue is so sensational that some of them have decided to explore the issue. Beware friends! Wasn't the experience of Southern Lebanon enough of a negative paradigm to warn the Israelis against future mishaps? Hafez Assad promised peace to US President Bill Clinton, effectively an imaginary peace, while he simultaneously supported the Palestinian "chaos" inside Israel.
Israel fulfilled its part of the obligations, withdrawing the IDF, and Assad fulfilled his obligations by giving Hezbollah an "Islamic" victory against the "Zionist" entity. Of course, Saddam Hussein wasn't yet found in that hole of Arab pride next toTikrit, his natal village. Since then, the Syrians are nervous, they want to hold on to everything they have: Lebanon's occupation, Hezbollah, the WMD from Iraq, Saddam's fortune, and they don't know how to proceed without tarring Syria with a label of a "terrorist supporting state." Damascus is evaluating one thing: What's next for our survival?
Bashar Al-Assad, Syrian president, and Hosni Mubarak of Egypt are trying to appease Washington by posturing that they support a meaningful peace with Israel, while the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a terrorist paramilitary organization based in Damascus, conducts a suicide operation in the heart of Tel Aviv.
Is Prime Minister Ariel Sharon going to repeat the same mistakes of Ehud Barak? We hope not, as the Free Lebanese still have faith in Ariel Sharon.
If anyone in Israel assumes that Bashar rules without dissent, they are mistaken. Bashar Al-Assad is not his father and does not rule Syria with a iron hand as did his father. He represents a soft, weak, controversial political figurehead for a brutal regime that is manipulated by thugs, who represent the terror alliance of the ruthless Baath Party, of Bashar?s father, in conjunction with Iran.
The military and intelligence brass of Hafez Al-Assad are the architects who rule Syria in fear and in cooperation with Iran. These people have no peace in mind. Politically and military, along with their intelligence brass, these people are responsible for boosting the insecurity in Iraq, the bombings in Israel through Palestinian supported proxies, and programming the instability of the Middle East.
Their structure of terror rules Syria like an iron fist, despite Bashar's tactical intentions to waste time with hypocritical overtures for peace. Syria has no strategic moves for peace in sight; their overtures are only for political diversion, to exacerbate the U.S. pressure on Israel, and to wait until the U.S. fails in Iraq, so as to reverse their current mode of action and see President Bush loose the next election.
Washington should understand this bluff and know how to respond to it. Syria knows Washington is not ready to seriously address the Damascus issue. Syria also understands that the Syria Accountability Act is a bluff and that U.S. sanctions will not work to "force" Syria to shift its policy against Washington's efforts to stabilize the Middle East. Syria knows that any military adventure against her would be a political suicide for the Bush Administration before the elections. Cynically, they understand that Washington?s attempt to force a deal between Syria and Israel is for political purposes only, with the predicable result of yet another diplomatic failure, as Washington would be effectively boosting the terror order in the Middle East against its friends and allies.
If Washington thinks that terror in the Middle East will be contained in Iraq by bypassing or ignoring Syria and Lebanon, they are terribly mistaken. Syria, through terror activities, failed to uphold the U.S.-supported 17th of May accords in Lebanon in 1983 and will foil the constructive U.S. role in Iraq in the same fashion.
The Syrian/Iranian Axis of terror must be addressed military before peace can prevail in the Middle East. Prime Minister Sharon should not demand the deployment of Lebanese troops in the south of Lebanon, as the current Lebanese army troops in Southern Lebanon are a military extension of Hezbollah fighters, integrated in the official Lebanese uniformed forces; and those soldiers take their orders from Sheikh Nabil Qaouk, No. 3 in the Hezbollah terrorist movement, and Hezbollah Chief Hassan Nasrallah. Their activities are coordinated directly with the Syrian army and Hezbollah so as to achieve what they call a "balance of terror," while the pro-Syrian Ministry of Defense in Beirut is busy targeting and monitoring all Christian leadership and opposition groups in Beirut and Mount Lebanon.
Since this is well known in Lebanon and Israel, Israel is losing time proceeding diplomatically and secretly on this path. We ask: Is this due to Israel's own initiative or due to Washington's pressure on Jerusalem? There are no deals to be cut in the war against terror, as America's soldiers are falling everyday in Baghdad. The Syrian regime, which supported every U.S. casualty in Iraq, every bombing in Israel and the occupation of Lebanon, should be reach its end, so that peace, democracy and a new Middle East will emerge.
In the Syrian mentality, negotiations with Israel is one matter and peace is another. Maintaining the balance of terror and its Iranian alliance is the strategic choice of Damascus. As Assad has explained in public interviews, he believes that an accord forged between Israel and the Palestinians ? without the Syrians ? will not guarantee peace to the entire region. The latest Tel Aviv bombing proved he was right. Syria still harbors Islamic Jihad, Hamas, Hezbollah, Sunni extremist organizations linked to Bin Laden in the Palestinian camps in Lebanon, and the PFLP-General Command of Mr Ahmed Jibril. (We detailed some of Syria?s terror infrastructure in Lebanon in an open letter to Kofi Anan.) These terror groups leave no room for peace in the Middle East.
The strategic issue of peace is not in Syria's hand, nor is it Syria's choice or her intention. Peace depends on Washington's willingness to decide what to do with the terror infrastructures exacerbating terror in Israel, Lebanon and Iraq, how to deal with the instabilities originating from Damascus, and how to implement an adequate solution at the correct time to finish the battle once and for all.
It is either the "willingness" of Washington to accept Syria, Iran and Hezbollah as peace partners in the area, which is political and security suicide for the West, or to give a green light to the IDF to shape the new landscape of peace in the area by striking this axis of evil hiding in Syria and Lebanon, thus consolidating a pro-U.S. order in the Middle East.
Now is the time for a military intervention against the terror infrastructure in Lebanon and Syria. The dismantling of terror groups and organizations in Syria and Lebanon will help secure a new chapter in the war against terrorism, and help reach a durable peace with Lebanon and Syria. Everyday that Washington loses time, the radicals are boosting terror and causing new deaths in Iraq. Time is of the essence. A regime change in Lebanon and Syria is the only alternative left to implement a durable and lasting peace, in order to normalize and stabilize the Levant in a way that is vital to U.S. security and economy.
A tyrant has fallen, but terrorism has not yet been defeated. Before its too late for Iraq, the Middle East and the Bush Administration, action - meaningful action - must be taken.
Israel fulfilled its part of the obligations, withdrawing the IDF, and Assad fulfilled his obligations by giving Hezbollah an "Islamic" victory against the "Zionist" entity. Of course, Saddam Hussein wasn't yet found in that hole of Arab pride next toTikrit, his natal village. Since then, the Syrians are nervous, they want to hold on to everything they have: Lebanon's occupation, Hezbollah, the WMD from Iraq, Saddam's fortune, and they don't know how to proceed without tarring Syria with a label of a "terrorist supporting state." Damascus is evaluating one thing: What's next for our survival?
Bashar Al-Assad, Syrian president, and Hosni Mubarak of Egypt are trying to appease Washington by posturing that they support a meaningful peace with Israel, while the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a terrorist paramilitary organization based in Damascus, conducts a suicide operation in the heart of Tel Aviv.
Is Prime Minister Ariel Sharon going to repeat the same mistakes of Ehud Barak? We hope not, as the Free Lebanese still have faith in Ariel Sharon.
If anyone in Israel assumes that Bashar rules without dissent, they are mistaken. Bashar Al-Assad is not his father and does not rule Syria with a iron hand as did his father. He represents a soft, weak, controversial political figurehead for a brutal regime that is manipulated by thugs, who represent the terror alliance of the ruthless Baath Party, of Bashar?s father, in conjunction with Iran.
The military and intelligence brass of Hafez Al-Assad are the architects who rule Syria in fear and in cooperation with Iran. These people have no peace in mind. Politically and military, along with their intelligence brass, these people are responsible for boosting the insecurity in Iraq, the bombings in Israel through Palestinian supported proxies, and programming the instability of the Middle East.
Their structure of terror rules Syria like an iron fist, despite Bashar's tactical intentions to waste time with hypocritical overtures for peace. Syria has no strategic moves for peace in sight; their overtures are only for political diversion, to exacerbate the U.S. pressure on Israel, and to wait until the U.S. fails in Iraq, so as to reverse their current mode of action and see President Bush loose the next election.
Washington should understand this bluff and know how to respond to it. Syria knows Washington is not ready to seriously address the Damascus issue. Syria also understands that the Syria Accountability Act is a bluff and that U.S. sanctions will not work to "force" Syria to shift its policy against Washington's efforts to stabilize the Middle East. Syria knows that any military adventure against her would be a political suicide for the Bush Administration before the elections. Cynically, they understand that Washington?s attempt to force a deal between Syria and Israel is for political purposes only, with the predicable result of yet another diplomatic failure, as Washington would be effectively boosting the terror order in the Middle East against its friends and allies.
If Washington thinks that terror in the Middle East will be contained in Iraq by bypassing or ignoring Syria and Lebanon, they are terribly mistaken. Syria, through terror activities, failed to uphold the U.S.-supported 17th of May accords in Lebanon in 1983 and will foil the constructive U.S. role in Iraq in the same fashion.
The Syrian/Iranian Axis of terror must be addressed military before peace can prevail in the Middle East. Prime Minister Sharon should not demand the deployment of Lebanese troops in the south of Lebanon, as the current Lebanese army troops in Southern Lebanon are a military extension of Hezbollah fighters, integrated in the official Lebanese uniformed forces; and those soldiers take their orders from Sheikh Nabil Qaouk, No. 3 in the Hezbollah terrorist movement, and Hezbollah Chief Hassan Nasrallah. Their activities are coordinated directly with the Syrian army and Hezbollah so as to achieve what they call a "balance of terror," while the pro-Syrian Ministry of Defense in Beirut is busy targeting and monitoring all Christian leadership and opposition groups in Beirut and Mount Lebanon.
Since this is well known in Lebanon and Israel, Israel is losing time proceeding diplomatically and secretly on this path. We ask: Is this due to Israel's own initiative or due to Washington's pressure on Jerusalem? There are no deals to be cut in the war against terror, as America's soldiers are falling everyday in Baghdad. The Syrian regime, which supported every U.S. casualty in Iraq, every bombing in Israel and the occupation of Lebanon, should be reach its end, so that peace, democracy and a new Middle East will emerge.
In the Syrian mentality, negotiations with Israel is one matter and peace is another. Maintaining the balance of terror and its Iranian alliance is the strategic choice of Damascus. As Assad has explained in public interviews, he believes that an accord forged between Israel and the Palestinians ? without the Syrians ? will not guarantee peace to the entire region. The latest Tel Aviv bombing proved he was right. Syria still harbors Islamic Jihad, Hamas, Hezbollah, Sunni extremist organizations linked to Bin Laden in the Palestinian camps in Lebanon, and the PFLP-General Command of Mr Ahmed Jibril. (We detailed some of Syria?s terror infrastructure in Lebanon in an open letter to Kofi Anan.) These terror groups leave no room for peace in the Middle East.
The strategic issue of peace is not in Syria's hand, nor is it Syria's choice or her intention. Peace depends on Washington's willingness to decide what to do with the terror infrastructures exacerbating terror in Israel, Lebanon and Iraq, how to deal with the instabilities originating from Damascus, and how to implement an adequate solution at the correct time to finish the battle once and for all.
It is either the "willingness" of Washington to accept Syria, Iran and Hezbollah as peace partners in the area, which is political and security suicide for the West, or to give a green light to the IDF to shape the new landscape of peace in the area by striking this axis of evil hiding in Syria and Lebanon, thus consolidating a pro-U.S. order in the Middle East.
Now is the time for a military intervention against the terror infrastructure in Lebanon and Syria. The dismantling of terror groups and organizations in Syria and Lebanon will help secure a new chapter in the war against terrorism, and help reach a durable peace with Lebanon and Syria. Everyday that Washington loses time, the radicals are boosting terror and causing new deaths in Iraq. Time is of the essence. A regime change in Lebanon and Syria is the only alternative left to implement a durable and lasting peace, in order to normalize and stabilize the Levant in a way that is vital to U.S. security and economy.
A tyrant has fallen, but terrorism has not yet been defeated. Before its too late for Iraq, the Middle East and the Bush Administration, action - meaningful action - must be taken.