Bush's Obsession with Syria, at it again....

[whistle]

<snip>
May 5, 2005

Sanctioning Syria, Again?
The Obsession with Syria
By FARRAH HASSEN

New York City

The Bush Middle East foreign policy squad is shooting our country in its foot again, this time in Syria. After the release of a recent US report absolving the Damascus government from charges of accumulating WMDs and supporting terrorism, one would think that logic would dictate a rethinking of Syria policy. Instead, Washington officials have commenced another round of Syria bashing.

In October 2004 while working for UNDP Syria, near the towering ancient Roman Corinthian columns scattered across Palmyra (Tadmor), located in a palm tree-lined oasis northeast of Damascus, I asked a young Syrian computer programmer who accompanied me: "How concerned are you about the US sanctions imposed on your country?"

He threw me a quizzical look, implying I was delusional. "The sanctions are a joke" he declared, referring to President George W. Bush's May 11, 2004 directive under the SAA banning US exports to Syria. US trade with Syria amounts to less than $300 million a year. The SAA also prohibits Syrian flights from entering or leaving US territory.

"Since when did Syrian Air ever fly to the U.S.?" he asked with a guffaw, thus capturing the illogical intent of the SAA's punitive measures: censuring Damascus for its "support for terrorism," "occupation of Lebanon" and "development of weapons of mass destruction." Most Syrians to whom I spoke during the Fall 2004 understood that the SAA sanctions related more to US domestic politics than foreign policy, but I nevertheless discerned a lingering concern which one Damascus economist called the "negative image that they give our country, especially to tourists and potential investors."

<more>
<link> http://www.counterpunch.org/hassen05052005.html

[PurityOfEssence]

1. Can you say PNAC? I knew that you could.

Israel and the PNAC want to crush Syria, just as Rumsfeld wanted to use 9-11 to "roll up all" unfinished business and annoying humans who won't toe our line.

History will probably show that we tried to do Syria in April of '03, but just didn't have the manpower as Baghdad erupted.

They want Syria so bad it hurts. The endless sabre-rattlings and intimations are disgustingly reminiscent of the way they always do business. There's nothing we can do about Iran at the moment, and we have this handy and REALLY GOOD military (the IDF) just sitting there champing at the bit...

[whistle]

3. It's quite a prize, Rumsfeld could end up with his own country...

...or he could be made prefect of the Middle East

<snip>
Syria Top of Page
Population:
18,448,752
note: in addition, about 40,000 people live in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights - 20,000 Arabs (18,000 Druze and 2,000 Alawites) and about 20,000 Israeli settlers (July 2005 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 37.4% (male 3,556,795/female 3,350,267)
15-64 years: 59.3% (male 5,601,971/female 5,333,799)
65 years and over: 3.3% (male 288,868/female 317,052) (2005 est.)
Median age:
total: 20.37 years
male: 20.24 years
female: 20.51 years (2005 est.)
Population growth rate:
2.34% (2005 est.)
Birth rate:
28.29 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Death rate:
4.88 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Net migration rate:
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)

<more>
<link> http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/sy.html

Right next to Syria to the west is Lebanon and to the south Jordan. Yummy! :sarcasm:

[FreedomAngel82]

4. I agree

Definitley PNAC. It's apart of the map and the oil pipeline. I hope they're ready for them. Bush likes to get countries that have nothing. No army or military weapons to use against them. That's why they got Iraq first. But they weren't expecting their people to fight back.

[Clark2008]

2. And, praytell, what is the status of Syria getting out of Lebanaon

Since the great "PR Blast" of three months ago, we haven't had a peep from the Administration about the status of this "march for freedom."

(Psssttt.... because there is no plans to march for freedom, but to trample it.)

[charlyvi]

5. Maybe they refused...

to torture anyone for us anymore....what with Amnesty International wising up to it and all. :sarcasm: