March 27, 2004

Syria seeks our help to woo US (March 27, 2004)

SYRIA has appealed to Australia to use its close ties with Washington to help the Arab nation shake off its reputation as a terrorist haven and repair its relations with the US.

Secret talks between the two nations have been under way for months but have become more urgent as rogue nations reconsider their role in allowing terrorists to thrive, in light of the US determination to take pre-emptive military action.
[Woohoo! The Bush Doctrine works!--Jen]
[...]
Australia's close relationship with Washington, and its much higher profile in the Middle East, have prompted Syrian Foreign Minister Farouq al-Shara'a and parliamentary speaker Mahmoud Al-Ibrache to appeal to Canberra to help bring their country back in from a US-imposed diplomatic freeze.
[...]
Drawing on the British-sponsored return of Libya to the international fold, Australia is demanding that Syria take a tougher role against terrorists, particularly those using the nation as a base for operations into Iraq.

Australia also has called on the former Soviet client state to abandon any pursuit of weapons of mass destruction before it returns to the fold.

Syria has supported the war on terror but the Bush administration has been sceptical about its commitment, fearing Iraqi weapons of mass destruction were smuggled across the border before the US-led invasion last year.
[...]
The overtures to Syria are seen as a response to the West's determination to confront rogue nations that may either pose a threat themselves or pass on weapons to terrorists.

Foreign Minister Alexander Downer last night welcomed Syria's commitment to broadening dialogue with the international community.

"We would like to see Syria follow Libya's example in making a genuine return to the international community," he said through a spokesman.

"But Syria must abandon any effort to attain weapons of mass destruction, act to control the flow of terrorists across its border with Iraq and step up support for the war on terror."

Syria's Melbourne-based honorary consul, Antonios Zyrabi, confirmed to The Weekend Australian last night that Syria wanted Australia to help it come in from the diplomatic cold.

Exxxxcellllllent news!
Syria is indeed a country that needs to come in from the cold!
Bashir Assad has a miserable human rights record, as did his father; the Syrian people could really use a lot of those democratic reforms that countries like Australia and America like to export.
And Syria probably is the hiding place for Saddam's WMDs, not to mention the HQ for Baathist loyalists right now, as well as being a center for Hezbollah outside of Iran.
Assad has been the de facto ruler and occupier of Lebanon, out of which Islamist terrorists operate on a para-military basis conducting attacks against Israel from the Bekka Valley.
Funnily enough, the U.S. was about to impose economic sanctions on Syria when the Israelis assassinated the Hamas leader Yassin.
We thought we'd wait until tensions in the region "calmed down," but maybe sanctions won't be necessary if the Ozzies can finesse this and bring them to the negotiating table on the quiet, as the UK did for Libya.
Hope so--Syria's definitely a major trouble spot in the region and getting them fully on board in the WOT would be terrific.