[Jerusalem Post] Herb Keinon - In any peace agreement with Israel, Syria is not only interested in regaining the Golan. Damascus also wants America; they want the same type of economic assistance the Americans gave the Egyptians and Jordanians, and they want the U.S. to wink at what they believe is their right to influence Lebanon. The U.S. has two major quarrels with the Syrians. The first has to do with Syrian actions to undermine the development of a pro-Western democracy in Lebanon, and the second is the terrorists' use of Syria as a staging ground for attacks inside Iraq. The U.S. position has been that there has to be some kind of Syrian behavioral modification before the door to Damascus can be opened. Although the Obama administration may want to talk to Damascus, just as it wants to talk to Iran, that doesn't mean it will give the Syrians anything concrete until they change their behavior.
2008-12-23 06:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive