U.S. Plan Seeks to Wedge Syria Away From Iran

[cal04]

As Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice heads to Israel on Sunday, Bush administration officials say they recognize Syria is central to any plans to resolve the crisis in the Middle East, and they are seeking ways to peel Syria away from its alliance of convenience with Iran.

In interviews, senior administration officials said they had no plans right now to resume direct talks with the Syrian government. President Bush recalled his ambassador to Syria, Margaret Scobey, after the assassination of Rafik Hariri, a former Lebanese prime minister, in February 2005. Since then, America’s contacts with Damascus have been few, and the administration has imposed an array of sanctions on Syria’s government and banks, and frozen the assets of Syrian officials implicated in Mr. Hariri’s killing.

But officials said this week that they were at the beginning stages of a plan to encourage Saudi Arabia and Egypt to make the case to the Syrians that they must turn against Hezbollah. With the crisis at such a pivotal stage, officials who are involved in the delicate negotiations to end it agreed to speak candidly about their expectations only if they were not quoted by name.

“We think that the Syrians will listen to their Arab neighbors on this rather than us,’’ said one senior official, “so it’s all a question of how well that can be orchestrated.’’

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/23/washington/23diplo.html?hp&ex=1153627200&en=0e43bb47d9f32b2b&ei=5094&partner=homepage

[cantstandbush]

1. Are these people really that stupid or do we just think they are? nt

[Acadia Blue]

2. They are incredibly stupid and have severe psychological problems.

[MrPrax]

3. Who is running foreign policy

in the US?

Syria cuts U.S. ties

WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2005

Moustapha said Syria had done all it could to respond to the U.S. complaints, including taking steps to build barriers and to add patrols along Syria's long border with Iraq. Syria has jailed about 1,200 foreign fighters who tried to enter Iraq from Syria, the ambassador said, and has returned scores of others to their home countries, including Saudi Arabia and Jordan.

But Moustapha said the renewal of U.S. complaints had caused his government to abandon the idea of providing further help.

"We thought, why should we continue to cooperate?" Moustapha said. He said he believed that the Bush administration had decided "to escalate the situation with Syria" despite the steps Syria had taken against the insurgents in Iraq and despite its withdrawal, in recent weeks, of troops from Lebanon, in response to international demands.

...

A senior U.S. military officer acknowledged that "the Syrian government has in some cases been helpful" in building border obstacles and otherwise taking action against people involved in providing support to the insurgency. Still, the officer said, "our sense is that they protest a bit too much and that they are capable of doing more. We expect them to do more."

American intelligence officials have said that Syria has provided important assistance to the United States over the past four years in the campaign against Al Qaeda. Syria has also worked with the United States on issues related to patrolling the Iraqi border. Any scaling back of either effort could have a notable impact.

IHT of a NYTimes story

Israel set war plan more than a year ago
Strategy was put in motion as Hezbollah began increasing its military strength

Israel's military response by air, land and sea to what it considered a provocation last week by Hezbollah militants is unfolding according to a plan finalized more than a year ago.

In the years since Israel ended its military occupation of southern Lebanon, it watched warily as Hezbollah built up its military presence in the region. When Hezbollah militants kidnapped two Israeli soldiers last week, the Israeli military was ready to react almost instantly.
SFChronicle

It's all planned and this latest Arab outrage is simply a 'pretext' for re-writing the map of the ME (again) by colonial powers which includes Israel.