Posted on 03/27/2009 4:08:06 PM PDT by Shellybenoit
President Obama has begun his promised engagement with the Syrian regime. The American objective is to pry Syria away from Iran, which is unlikely to happen. For Syria it is an opportunity to alleviate the international pressure on Damascus.
The "engagement" with Syria comes at a particularly sensitive time, just a few months before the Lebanese elections, where the present government faces stiff competition from Syrian puppet Hezballah.Of course the contact will serve to weaken Washington steps to shore up the opponents of the terrorist group.
With recent history as a guide, there is little reason to be optimistic that this attempt at engagement will succeed any more than previous tries. The president must understand the nature of the Syrian government, a brutal dictatorship, which derives its regional influence almost exclusively through its support for terrorism in neighboring states and, by extension, through its 30-year strategic alliance with Tehran.
What the President must also realize that in the Arab world negotiates based on strength and weakness. If they perceive you are weak they will take advantage of you at every stage. Syria is already bragging that Obama's "engagement" is a sign of American weakness:
(Excerpt) Read more at yidwithlid.blogspot.com ...
Next week we surrender to Monaco!
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