This is passing strange: reports that the U.S. is negotiating with Syria to secure that country's eastern border with Iraq, where terrorists have flowed freely to fight the Coalition.
The dire security conditions in Iraq have overshadowed many of the Bush administration's diplomatic priorities in Syria, prompting U.S. officials to focus their efforts here on enlisting the government's help in stabilizing the country's eastern border with Iraq.The new appeal for greater Syrian cooperation on Iraq comes as the Bush administration is pressuring the four-year-old government of President Bashar Assad to end Syria's long-standing military presence in Lebanon, evict terrorist organizations from Syria and more closely monitor its banking system so militant groups cannot use it to launder money.
But in a meeting Sept. 11, Assad and a U.S. delegation led by William Burns, the assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs, discussed those issues only briefly during more than two hours of talks, according to participants on both sides. Instead, according to participants, the meeting was dominated by U.S. concerns over Syria's desolate 450-mile border with Iraq, which Arab fighters easily cross on their way to fight American soldiers.
"This visit was driven by one thing and one thing only: Iraq," Imad Moustapha, Syria's ambassador to the United States, who attended the meeting, said in an interview here. "They brought up their well-known list, and that took 10 minutes, then we brought up our list. But they came to discuss Iraq."
Given Syria's long track record in supporting, even hosting, anti-Israeli terrorist organizations, and deep suspicions that Syrian Ba'athists have eagerly cooperated with their Iraqi brethren to resist the final liberation of Iraq, it seems wildly improbable that Syria would cooperate with the U.S. Or could be trusted even it made such an agreement.
However, this announcement today may be related:
Syrian forces in Lebanon will start redeploying towards the Syrian border Tuesday, official sources in Damascus told UPI."This is official," said Imad Mustapha, Syria's ambassador to Washington, speaking from the Syrian capital. "Tuesday morning there will be a major redeployment of Syrian forces in Lebanon," he said by phone, adding this came about as a result of "having greater confidence in the situation."
"This move should please all parties," said Mustapha.
Asked how many troops were involved in the redeployment and to what positions the troops would move, Mustapha said, "It is too early to tell.
That's some understatement. Unfortunately, the Syrians may very well be the ones operating from a position of strength.
Related:
• DEBKA - Washington in Undercover Talks with Assad
• NPR - U.S. In Talks with Syria to Secure Iraqi Border
• Time - Cozying Up to Syria