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Source: http://opinionjournal.com/columnists/bstephens/?id=110010912
The Price America Will Pay for Condi's Syrian Photo-Op
[Wall Street Journal] Bret Stephens - When House Speaker Nancy Pelosi paid Syrian strongman Bashar Assad a call back in April, President Bush denounced her for sending "mixed signals" that "lead the Assad government to believe they are part of the mainstream of the international community, when in fact they are a state sponsor of terror." On Tuesday, said sponsor of terror will take its place at the table Rice has set for the Middle Eastern conference in Annapolis. Some believe that after accepting the administration's invitation to Annapolis, Syria can be persuaded to abandon its 25-year-old ties to Iran and return to the Arab fold. Yet the Syrian information minister told Al Jazeera that Syria's attendance would have no effect on its relations with Iran or its role as host to the leadership of Hamas and other Palestinian terrorist groups. Contrary to popular belief, recovering the Golan Heights is neither Syria's single nor primary goal; if anything, the regime derives much of its domestic legitimacy by keeping this grievance alive. What's urgently important to Damascus is that the UN tribunal investigating the 2005 murder of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri be derailed, before the extensive evidence implicating Assad and his cronies becomes a binding legal verdict. No less important to Assad is that his grip on Lebanese politics be maintained by the selection of a pliant president to replace his former puppet, Emile Lahoud. Put simply, there is nothing the U.S. can offer Assad that would seriously tempt him to alter his behavior in ways that could meaningfully advance U.S. interests or the cause of Mideast peace. So look out for more aggressive Syrian misbehavior in Lebanon, including the continued arming of Hizbullah; the paralysis of its political process; the assassination of anti-Syrian parliamentarians and journalists; the insertion of Sunni terrorist cells in Palestinian refugee camps, and the outright seizure of Lebanon's eastern hinterlands. Look out, too, for continued cooperation with North Korea on WMD projects. And don't hold your breath expecting Syria's good behavior on its Iraqi frontier to last much longer.