September 21, 2004

Syria troops in Lebanon to begin pullback

Syria's ambassador to Washington said yesterday his country's forces in Lebanon will begin a major redeployment toward their own border this morning.
    
The diplomat also said Syrian and U.S. troops will partake in joint security operations along the Syrian-Iraqi border, although State Department officials contradicted that claim.
[I think we all know by now that the State Department is usually part of the problem and not the solution.--Jen]
[...]
He said the plan [for joint U.S.-Syrian military cooperation] was approved during a visit to Damascus last week by Peter Rodman, assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs, and William Burns, assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs.
    
The ambassador did not say whether American troops would cross into Syria or Syrian troops into Iraq to conduct the patrols, but much of the border area is open desert with an ill-defined frontier.
[And needless to say, bad guys have been sneaking across this border to make war on our troops and Iraqi security forces since OIF began.]
[...]
U.S. authorities in Baghdad have long been concerned that the border area is being used both by arms smugglers and foreign fighters seeking to join the resistance in Iraq.
    
A redeployment of Syrian forces in Lebanon should ease strains in U.S.-Syrian relations, which hit a low when President Bush signed into law the Syrian Accountability and Lebanese Sovereignty Act on Dec. 12.
    
The act imposed economic sanctions on Syria for what the U.S. government deems to be support of terrorist organizations, and also called for the withdrawal of Syrian troops who have been in Lebanon since that country's 1975 civil war.
[...]
The United States has also accused Syria of supporting terrorism and of taking in fleeing Iraqi Ba'athists in the opening weeks of the Iraq war.
[...]
Mr. Mustapha said that this move comes at a time when Syria is trying to cooperate with the United States.
[We'll see...--Jen]
    
Despite the setbacks in diplomatic relations, Syria has continued to cooperate with the United States in the war against terrorism, according to high-ranking Syrian officials, who said their actions had "saved American lives."

Well, Syria has still got a lonnnnnnnnnnnngggggg way to go to prove it's really a partner nation with us in the WOT, but this is a start!
It's another small victory, nonetheless.
Having a firmer border with Iraq will help that situation and the Israelis will breathe a little more easily knowing there are less soldiers staring at them with guns drawn across the Bekka Valley.
The Bush Doctrine keeps on working and working...!