Posted on 11/23/2004 3:30:01 PM PST by Racehorse
Interesting, maybe important, background noice at the Cairo conference . . . Hoshyar Zebari, Iraq's foreign minister, said the meeting was designed to reassure Iran and Syria that US forces in Iraq had no hidden agenda to attack neighbours. Yet, both Syria and Iran fear the US is determined to bring down their own regimes when its hands are free from Iraq. So co-operation on Iraq may not be sustainable without a broader and friendlier dialogue between these two governments and Washington. Iran, which has no diplomatic ties with the US, is offering support in Iraq partly in the hope that this would help alleviate US pressure on it over its nuclear programme, which will be discussed at the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna tomorrow. Iraqi officials say that leaders of the Sunni insurgency are based in Syria and have called for Damascus to help root out the radical networks. But Syria is also looking for something in exchange: it wants the US to put pressure on Israel to restart negotiations on a return of the Golan Heights, occupied in 1967. The Bush administration, however, seems to have little appetite for intervention on the Golan. Mr Powell met Mr Sharaa and later said: "The Syrians have taken some steps recently [on Iraq] but we think there is a lot more they can do."
(Excerpt) Read more at news.ft.com ...
It's only paranoia when they're REALLY out to getcha...
Israel will never willingly relinquish control of the Golan. It's simply too strategically important.
This is really interesting. I wondered why the Iranians were making nice. As far as Syria goes, the sooner it's overrun by US forces, the better. We still owe them for teh Marine Barracks bombing. The Syrians turned Lebanon into Hell, and continue to meddle there. We don't hear too much about that at the UN, do we now. What do you expect from a former French protectorate?
Not only that, it's the wellhead of the Jordan River, and will be crucial to growth in the region. Water will become an even more important resource over there as the years go by, and if Syria has the Heights, they'll be able to cut off the water supply.
"both Syria and Iran fear the US is determined to bring down their own regimes when its hands are free from Iraq. So co-operation on Iraq may not be sustainable without a broader and friendlier dialogue between these two governments and Washington"
Gee, that's sad. I guess we'll have to engage the new gov'ts of Syria and Iran. :')
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