Olmert: Iraq, Mideast Conflict Unrelated

1207dvs-mideast-reaction Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Thursday rejected a U.S. advisory group's conclusions that Israel must talk to Syria and solve its conflict with the Palestinians to help the Bush administration stabilize Iraq.

"Syria is not about to stop supporting Mideast extremists and Iraq is not linked to the Israel-Palestinian issue," Olmert said. Still, he added that Israel wants to restart peace talks with the Palestinians "with all our might."

Elsewhere in the Middle East, many Arabs interpreted the panel's bleak assessment of President Bush's Iraq policies as proof of Washington's failure in the region, and some warned the report could fuel insurgents and others vying to fill Iraq's security vacuum.

"This report is a recognition of the limitation of American power," said Abdel Moneim Said, head of Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic studies in Cairo. "In the short term, America will highly suffer the loss of its reputation and credibility in the region."

The bipartisan study, written under the leadership of former Secretary of State James A. Baker III and former Rep. Lee Hamilton, painted a dire picture of the situation in Iraq.

The report suggested the United States should find ways to pull back most of its combat forces by early 2008 and focus U.S. troops on training and supporting Iraqi units. The U.S. also should begin a "diplomatic offensive" and engage adversaries Iran and Syria in an effort to quell sectarian violence and shore up the Iraqi government, the report said.

It also called for direct talks between Israel, Syria, Lebanon and the Palestinians, and portrayed the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as a key element of failed efforts to achieve stability and rein in extremism in the Middle East.

Olmert rejected that assessment. "The attempt to create a linkage between the Iraqi issue and the Mideast issue - we have a different view," the Israeli leader said. "To the best of my knowledge, President Bush, throughout the recent years, also had a different view on this."

The notion that Israeli-Palestinian peace could defuse overall tensions between the West and Islam is not new. However, many Israelis feel it unfairly blames them for problems beyond their borders.

Answering reporters' questions for more than an hour Thursday, Olmert said conditions were not ripe to reopen long-dormant talks with Syria and added that he received no indications from Bush that the U.S. would push Israel to start such talks.

In Damascus, a Syrian Foreign Ministry official praised the report's emphasis on the need to settle the Arab-Israeli conflict and made clear what his government would want from the United States in return for help in trying to reduce violence in Iraq.

"The Syrian priority is to fully recover the occupied Arab Syrian Golan Heights," the official Syrian Arab News Agency quoted the unidentified official as saying.

Syrian President Bashar Assad has called in recent months for a new round of talks with Israel. Syria is a key backer of the Palestinian militant group Hamas and Hezbollah, the Lebanese guerrilla group that battled Israel for a month last summer.

But Olmert said Syria's attempts to subvert Lebanon's government and support for Hamas "doesn't create the conditions for negotiations with the Syrians in the near future." He said Israel and the West have been trying for years to separate Syria from Mideast radicals "to no avail."

"We welcome the Hamilton-Baker report and hope the U.S. administration will translate it into deeds," Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said. "The region needs peace, the region needs dialogue and we have always stuck to dialogue toward a comprehensive peace."

Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said his government would look at the report, but that Washington needed to change its Iraq policies before any dialogue with Tehran.

"The main important thing is the Americans decide to leave Iraq," Mottaki said during a visit to the Netherlands.

"They made some recommendations that can be considered, no problem," Mottaki said. "But for the time being the main priority is to show ... a strong political will to change the policies - not in talking, in action."

Israel has nothing to do with the War for Iraq, they should not be pressured to negotiate because the current Admin might perceive that they are politically weak.

IMO though, Ohlmert should be shown the exit forthwith.

What's this. It's not Israel's fault that the arabs are killing each other. That the chechnyan rebels attacked Beslan, that the islamofascists killed tourists in Egypt.

The MSM and a goodly number of dems would disagree!

Whatever isn't Bush's fault is clearly Israel's fault.

Does the ISG report remind you of the border fence debate?

The American people simply wanted a fence. The politicians want a "compresnetative", "all encompassing legislation" we had to fight to keep it simple.

The American people simply want Victory, bring the boys home and let them take care of themselves - this report wants to enlarge the governments role with bigger government, more negotiations and politics which is exactly what we don't want.

In Damascus, a Syrian Foreign Ministry official praised the report's emphasis on the need to settle the Arab-Israeli conflict and made clear what his government would want from the United States in return for help in trying to reduce violence in Iraq.
"The Syrian priority is to fully recover the occupied Arab Syrian Golan Heights," the official Syrian Arab News Agency quoted the unidentified official as saying.

Clear as a bell. Syria will stop sending in jihadis and supporting insurgents killing Americans in trade for the Golan Heights. The Baker report strengthened the Syrian hand immensely. They'll do what they want in Lebanon too now. Baker is a smart man. What else dould have he intended but to get this result?

once you link it then you also show that obsession - the movie is very accurate that it is a part of a global jihad

And there you have it! Another leader claiming MUSLIM MADNESS in Iraq has no connection to the rapidly spreading MUSLIM MADNESS elsewhere in the world.

I happen to believe the MUSLIM MADNESS in Iraq, Iran, Syria, Lebanon, Gaza, the Golan Heights, West Bank, Palestine, Europe, Africa, Asia, even here in the USA, have a common thread. Gosh! I wonder what it could be?

Mingling with the carriers of MUSLIM MADNESS in talks will not cure the spread of MUSLIM MADNESS disease.

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