LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
DECEMBER 27/2006Bible Reading of the day
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 10,17-22. But beware of people, for they will hand you over to courts and scourge you in their synagogues, and you will be led before governors and kings for my sake as a witness before them and the pagans. When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say. You will be given at that moment what you are to say. For it will not be you who speak but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. Brother will hand over brother to death, and the father his child; children will rise up against parents and have them put to death. You will be hated by all because of my name, but whoever endures to the end will be saved.
Free Opinions
Iran and Us! Jameel Theyabi Al-Hayat - 27/12/06
The delusion of a dialogue with Syria-By Ammar Abdulhamid 27.12.06
Revived Russia can do much good in turbulent Middle East-Daily Star 27.12.06Latest News from the Daily Star for 27/december/06
PM sticks to his guns, insists on need to resume dialogue
Jumblatt vows revenge against 'tyrant' Assad
Hoss prescribes radical reform to end Beirut crisis
Magistrate denies request for release of TV crew who broke into witness' flat
Sfeir prays for end to crisis during Christmas Mass
Geagea accuses protesters of 'violating the law'
Opposition MPs call for Siniora's impeachment
Hariri family company wins major contract in UAE
Crisis in Beirut threatens success of Paris III - analysts
New perfume smells like ... 'divine victory'
Lebanese deck the halls - and Christmas trees - with all manner of political symbols
Rain dampens tents - but not spirits - of protesters
Saddam loses appeal against death sentence in Dujail case
Ethiopia claims to have Somali Islamists on the run
Defiant Tehran vows to enrich uranium on industrial scale
Latest news from Miscellaneous Scources for December 27/06
Cluster Bombs Injure 5 in Lebanon-Washington Post
Little Festive Cheer In Beirut As Business Suffers-Playfuls.com
Arrested Iranians Linked to Group which Trains Hizbullah; Report-Naharnet
Mufti Juzo: Hezbollah using Mafia tactics in Lebanon-Ya Libnan
Christians Celebrate Christmas with Hopes for an End to Ordeal-Naharnet
Syria plans regional conference on Iraq -US senator-Reuters
Syria Sentences Seven Activities To Up To 8 Years In Prison-Playfuls.com
Israeli spies divided over Syria's peace overtures-Scotsman
UN New Secretary General Considers Lebanon and Darfur Top ...Sudanese Media Center
Olmert Says He Wants to Renew Peace Talks with Syria-Voice of America
Fouad Saad: We have reached a dead end in Lebanon-Ya Libnan
Court says Saddam to hang within 30 days - AP
Ethiopia claims 1,000 Islamists killed - APLebanese Sunni Mufti Al-Jouzo: Hezbollah Resorts to Mafia Tactics to Impose its Will
December 25, 2006 – Agencies.-(Translated from Arabic)
The Sunni Mufti of Mount Lebanon Province, Sheikh Mohammad Ali Al-Jouzo, issued the following statement:
Save Lebanon from the Mafia. Save Lebanon from those who are acting to hijack Lebanon and place it under the control and influence of Iran and Syria. Save Lebanon from those who are serving Israel and America by spreading constructive chaos on the soil of Lebanon. Since kidnapping the two Israeli soldiers, Lebanon has become hijacked to the benefit of the Iranian-Syrian forces that have sowed destruction, economic collapse and social, political and moral perdition in the land of Lebanon.
The Syrian influence is represented by the Head of State who continues to obstruct the State’s institutions, including Parliament, and who is acting to obstruct the government to the point of complete paralysis. Isn’t that the method of the Mafia? Under the slogan of national unity, they strike at that unity by exploiting it for sectarian purposes, as they dealt a blow to Islamic unity by using it as a slogan for their sectarian practices. Under the slogan of a national unity government, they attacked national unity and divided and tore apart the Lebanese people. They incited for sectarian and religious strife, and they want to deal a fatal blow to the International Court by voiding it of its legal and judicial substance in order to save the Syrian and Lebanese big wigs who carried out the assassination of Premier Hariri.
Save Lebanon from the Mafia. Hezbollah is resorting to Mafia-style methods to impose its will on the Lebanese people. For one and a half year, Hezbollah was an essential partner in the government that resulted from a national consensus and national unity. Hezbollah has today turned against the government and created a huge problem for the country under the pretense of a new national unity government.
Today they issue threats of closing the road to the airport, the road to the harbor, and civil disobedience, and here the issue tramples the laws that allow demonstrations to strike at Lebanon and carry out a coup against the State. Therefore, the State must act as the State in the fullest sense of the word, and the Army must play its role to prevent the coup that the Mafia is scheming in Lebanon.Christians Celebrate Christmas with Hopes for an End to Ordeal
Lebanon's Christians celebrated Christmas Day with wishes from Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir that efforts by the international community would help find a fair settlement to the ongoing political crisis and urged rival leaders to salvage Lebanon from its "ordeal."
In his Christmas Day address, Sfeir hoped that the international community would help find "swift, balanced and peaceful settlements for Lebanon and the Middle East." "I pray to God to inspire the (Lebanese) leaders to pass through the right track (in order) to get our country out of its ordeal," Sfeir added at the mass in the Saydit church in Bkirki. Under the title "Don't be Frightened," Sfeir also urged pro- and anti-government leaders to direct their attention to the "welfare of this country." Sfeir chaired the central mass in Bkirki which was attended by several cabinet ministers and parliament members in the absence of President Emile Lahoud. Sfeir wondered why "matters don't get straight here! Isn't it because the greedy want to share power and (benefit) from what that power hauls behind from wealth and influence to prestige?"
The Majority March 14 coalition that supports the government of Prime Minister Fouad Saniora has accused the Hizbullah-led Opposition of seeking to block an international tribunal to try suspects in the 2005 assassination of ex-Premier Rafik Hariri and related crimes.
The March 14 camp blames the crimes on Syria.
The opposition demands a new unity government with greater representation, ensuring veto power, to organize parliamentary elections on the basis of a new electoral law to be followed by presidential elections. The anti-Syrian camp, however, wants the ouster of pro-Damascus President Emile Lahoud whose term was extended for three years in September 2004 under pressure from Syria. The Saniora cabinet has resisted the round-the-clock pressure of street protests organized by Hizbullah outside the Grand Serail in downtown Beirut. Beirut, 26 Dec 06, 08:55
Arrested Iranians Linked to Group which Trains Hizbullah; Report
The New York Times, citing White House officials, has said four Iranians arrested by U.S. forces in Iraq include two "senior military officials" with links to an Iranian Revolutionary Guard unit that trains Hizbullah. The White House on Monday said it will wait for results of a probe into the two Iranians before judging whether they confirm Iranian meddling in Iraqi affairs. If U.S. authorities produce evidence against the detainees it could be the first proof of their longstanding charge that Iranian agents are stirring violence in Iraq by arming and training illegal militias. U.S. forces in Iraq arrested the pair after releasing two other Iranians who had diplomatic immunity. The White House declined to reveal the nature of charges against the detainees, but cited Iranian "meddling" in Iraqi affairs. "We suspect this event validates our claims about Iranian meddling, but we want to finish our investigation of the detained Iranians before characterizing their activities," White House spokesman Alex Conant said Monday.
"We will be better able to explain what this means about the larger picture after we finish our investigation," Conant said. The spokesman said two of the detainees had been handed over to Iraqi authorities. "Two had diplomatic immunity and were released to the GOI (Government of Iraq) which released them to their government. We continue to work with the GOI on the status of the remaining detainees. That investigation is going well," Conant said.
The arrests come amid mounting diplomatic tension between Iran, the United States and the international community, after the U.N. Security Council voted to impose sanctions on Iran's nuclear program. The United States accuses Tehran of feeding the violence in Iraq, saying it sees Iranian fingerprints on Shiite militias and the makeshift roadside bombs that have killed many American soldiers. Iraq's government, meanwhile, protested the arrests, saying that two of the detainees were invitees of President Jalal Talabani. "Two people who were invited by the president to Iraq have now been apprehended by the Americans, and the president is unhappy with the arrests," Hiwa Osman, Talabani's media adviser, told AFP.
"The invitation was within the framework of an agreement between Iran and Iraq to improve the security situation," he added.
U.S. commanders in Iraq regularly accuse Iran of fomenting unrest in its troubled neighbor, but the Shiite-led Baghdad government has pursued closer security ties with Tehran. Leading Iraqi lawmaker and imam, Sheikh Jalaleddin al-Saghir of the Baratha mosque, told Agence France-Presse that two Iranian diplomats were released after being seized by U.S. forces in Baghdad Thursday. He said the diplomats "from the Iranian embassy came to see me at the mosque to offer condolences on the death of my mother." Iran also expressed displeasure over the detentions."A few days ago we became aware that U.S. forces, contrary to international laws, had arrested Iranian diplomats who were invited by the Iraqi government," Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Husseini said. "This action is not compatible with international law and it will have unpleasant consequences," he said, as quoted by the Mehr news agency.(AFP)(AFP filephoto shows Talabani speaking during a press conference in Baghdad.)
Beirut, 26 Dec 06, 11:56Iran and Us!
Jameel Theyabi Al-Hayat - 25/12/06//
Here is President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad going across lands, seas and rivers from the Ocean to the Gulf, in order to spread jurisprudent-like principles, and to carry out Khomeini's precepts following which he was brought up.
Apparently, the Iranian Government, with its hard-line President, will not give the Arabs the chance to read carefully its strategies, sectarian speeches and regional interests. I have warned about such aspects in previous articles, where I called for the necessity to re-read and re-examine Iranian declared and secret positions, and to stand up to the facts, the objectives and the risks (tragedies, controversies and unrest) that the Ahmadinejad administration will bring about in the entire region by following a policy damaging himself, his foes and his friends.
Iran will not give us the chance to re-read the political reality and the region scenarios, and to perceive its agenda in this part of the world. We did not exaggerate when we described this agenda as more dangerous than the Israeli one, and we did not exaggerate, either, when we mentioned that the US one - in spite of its contradictions - is less dangerous than Iranian endeavors. Such efforts are aiming to change the demographic composition of the region, to turn the sense of belonging to a State into a sense of belonging to a sectarian group and party, and to create religious loyalties that Iran could move whenever it wanted. And all this would be in favor of this regime, against Arab governments, and at the expense of the security, stability and integrity of the region, and an example of this is what Iran is doing at the moment in Southern Iraq and Lebanon.
On its front page, 'Al-Hayat' recently reported Sudanese Islamic groups warning against a great scheme orchestrated by Iran; a scheme which is part of the Iranian expansion. This was particularly evident after the Sudanese observed that entire villages had converted to the Shiite, and that Shiite mosques had started to spread in Khartoum, thanks to Iranian cultural efforts. Tehran's intentions were revealed by Mohammed Ali al-Jozo, the mufti of Mount Lebanon, in an interview with the Egyptian 'Rose al-Yousef' magazine, last Friday. During this meeting, serious information emerged about the relationship between Hezbollah and Iran, the wages paid to Lebanese Sunnite sheikhs by Iran in return for their support to Hezbollah, and the magnitude of Iran's influence in Lebanon. He also pointed out that 'decisions taken by Hezbollah have a sectarian dimension stretching as far as Tehran'. During this interview, Al-Jozo said about some Sunnite sheikhs supporting Hezbollah: 'Iran is paying their wages in order to bring them to side with Hezbollah'. He also indicated that Iran is paying generously abroad, while its people are suffering from poverty. This is the so-called 'Halal money' (immaculate) to guarantee care for them! These statements are a clear answer to Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah's saying that Iranian money is 'clean and pure'.
Iran is taking advantage of the divergence among stances in the Arab street and among points of view at a grass-root level in Lebanon, Iraq and Palestine. By doing so, it is aiming to spread its culture and agenda according to its will, in order to be able to lead the region into battles that would benefit Iran itself and achieve this regime's goals. These battles would leave nothing and no-one unscathed, in the shadow of unreliable international endeavors and weak efforts made by the Arabs to achieve security and stability in the region.
I have no doubt that such Iranian policy is a source of danger for all the States of a region where all religious sects co-exist in security and stability. And the reason is that such policy is still dominated by the 'conspiratorial idea'. Iran is doing as fundamentalist 'radical' groups do, as it is stirring up a religious and sectarian storm inside Arab countries. Furthermore, it is trying to use these storms to create a state of sectarian expansion, with which she could lay siege to the region, and make it eventually descend into conditions favorable for the outbreak of internal fierce wars.
Iran is seeking to destabilize the Arab World from within by materially controlling Arab citizens. Additionally, it is trying to spread what is in line with its agenda and interests, but which does not match with what is required to achieve security and stability in the region.Sfeir prays for end to crisis during Christmas Mass
Daily Star staff
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
BKIRKI: On Christmas Day, Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir expressed hope that international mediation efforts would yield a fair settlement of the current political crisis and urged rival leaders to save Lebanon from its "suffering."
In his annual Christmas Day address, Sfeir said he hoped that the international community would help find "swift, balanced and peaceful settlements for Lebanon and the Middle East."
This year's Christmas mass in Bkirki was not attended by President Emile Lahoud, who has recently been criticized by Sfeir.
"I pray to God to inspire the [Lebanese] leaders to undertake the appropriate actions to get our country out of its suffering," Sfeir said during the mass at the Notre Dame Church in Bkirki.
Sfeir also urged all leaders to direct their attention toward the "welfare of this country."
He said Lebanon is swimming in chaos, adding that constitutional institutions have failed to coordinate for the welfare of the country.
"The president takes unilateral decisions because he considers the Cabinet to be illegitimate, whereas the government itself considers the president as an illegitimate one. On the other hand, the Parliament fails to parley any sessions; all this is all too absurd," Sfeir added.
Sfeir described the opposition's demands to hold early elections before electing a new president as "incongruous."
Sfeir added that it was in the responsibility of all Lebanese to help their country overcome its current crisis, "instead of striving for earthly pleasures like wealth and authority."
Sfeir also said a number of Lebanese have become rattles in the hand of foreign forces, "have lost all agency, and are trying to execute foreign agendas here in Lebanon." - The Daily Star, with Naharnet
Jumblatt vows revenge against 'tyrant' Assad
By Maher Zeineddine
Daily Star correspondent
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
CHOUF: Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblatt lashed out at Syrian President Bashar Assad on Monday, calling him the "Damascus tyrant." "This boy is controlling people's lives in Damascus and killing free people in Lebanon; one day, there will be a Nawaf, from Beirut, Dahiyeh, the Chouf or the Bekaa, he might also be from Damascus or Aleppo," he said, in reference to Nawaf Ghazali, a Syrian Druze who assassinated former Syrian President Adib Shishakli in Brazil on September 27, 1964.
"If the tribunal is hampered, we will all be a Nawaf," he said, referring to the international court to try suspects in the killing of former Premier Rafik Hariri.
"However much time it takes, one of us will take revenge for the killing of our free martyrs, starting from [Druze leader] Kamal Jumblatt to [Industry Minister] Pierre Gemayel," he said.
Jumblatt was speaking during the funeral of Salman Siour, an official in Jumblatt's security body. Addressing the deceased, Jumblatt said that "in the time of betrayal, you protected me and my family. Today, I bid you farewell, at a time when betrayal has reached its peak."
"The traitor is the Damascus tyrant; but he will not stop our march toward independence, toward a true Arabism," Jumblatt said.
Meanwhile, Democratic Gathering MP Wael Bou Faour, lashed out at attempts to "return the country to the period of tutelage."
"There are attempts to adopt political assassinations as a natural means to prevent the creation of an international tribunal to try the assassins o
In an interview with The Daily Star on Tuesday, Democratic Gathering MP Akram Chehayeb said the Lebanese government would send a letter to the Security Council pertaining to the timing and the financial means for the creation of the international tribunal.
Chehayeb said the tribunal might be created under Article 7 of the UN Charter if the opposition "insists on rejecting it."
As for the Parliament secretariat's rejection of a petition calling for a session to vote on the tribunal's draft, Chehayeb said, "we sent the petition via mail and we are signing a new petition to open an extraordinary session in Parliament to vote on the draft."
Last week Parliament's secretary general, Adnan Daher, rejected the petition submitted by 70 MPs.
The March 14 Forces MP also said Syria and Iran were "responsible for the failure of the Arab League secretary general's initiative to resolve Lebanon's political crisis."
Magistrate denies request for release of TV crew who broke into witness' flat
By Mirella Hodeib
Daily Star staff
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
BEIRUT: Investigating Magistrate Elias Eid refused to release Tuesday New Television reporters who have been held in custody since last Tuesday after they allegedly attempted to break into the apartment of Mohammad Zuhair Siddiq, a major witnesses in the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
Reporter Firas Hatoum and cameramen Abdel-Azim Khayyat and Mohammed Barbar, were held in custody on orders from State Prosecutor Said Mirza. Despite a number of motions undertaken by various authorities, their release was not secured Tuesday.
The National Audiovisual Media Council held an urgent meeting Tuesday to discuss the case of Hatoum and his crew. Following the meeting, vice-president of the Council Ibrahim Awad said that such infractions would not occur if there were clear-cut and strict laws to regulate the work of journalists and reporters.
"We fully trust in the integrity of Lebanese judiciary," Awad said. "However," Awad added, "we also trust that the judiciary will look mercifully into the case of our colleagues [Hatoum, Khayat, and Barbar] who were doing nothing but their job."
Awad said that that the Audiovisual and Media Council has repeatedly warned against any kind of interference in the work and investigation of the judiciary.
"This is exactly what led the case of Siddiq which is a purely judiciary concern, to become an issue highly circulated within the media," Awad added.
"Thus," Awad said, "what we are witnessing today is a direct consequence of such blatant interference in judiciary issues, and not a direct cause."
Meanwhile, State Prosecutor Said Mirza met with New TV's general Manager Tahseen Khayat, in addition to the heads of the Press Federation and the Journalists Union, Mohammad Baalbaki and Melhem Karam, respectively. Following the meeting, Khayat said he trusted Prosecutor Mirza and Magistrate Eid.
"There is no need to worry, the New TV team is in safe hands, and I hope that the investigations won't last too long so that they can resume their work as soon as possible," Khayat said.
Mirza also met with a delegation of opposition MPs, including Nabil Nicholas, Abbas Hashem, Nawar Sahili, and Hussein Hajj Hassan. During the meeting, Hatoum's case was thoroughly discussed. Meanwhile, the friends and colleagues of the three detainees have organized a sit-in in front of the Justice Palace on Tuesday - the eighth day of their detention - to demand the immediate release of the New TV crew.
The Youth and Student Affairs Committee of the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) organized a sit-in in support of Hatoum, Khayyat and Barbar in Downtown Beirut Tuesday. The FPM committee set up a wireless connection booth whereby supporters signed an online petition calling for the release of the New TV crew.
Geagea accuses protesters of 'violating the law'
Daily Star staff
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
BEIRUT: Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea said Tuesday that the ongoing sit-in held by the opposition forces in Downtown Beirut is a "violation of the laws." "Using public streets as gathering points for people who wish to express their views is a natural right, but [activities such as] invading the streets, building fixed constructions and preventing people from using the streets are a violation of freedom of expression," he said in an interview with Al-Anbaa newspaper to be published on Wednesday.
Geagea acknowledged a rise in tensions but said that there are no signs that indicate an impending civil war. "The situation is tense and escalating but there are no signs that the country's main parties want to engage in a war," he told the paper.
"There are some secondary parties that want to instigate a war but they are unable to do so; they just deliver irresponsible speeches," he added.
Geagea said the government would implement the laws and adopt legal measures if the opposition decided to cut roads.
Asked about accusations that the government collaborated with Israel during the July-August war, he said: "If they have evidence or documents that prove anything against the March 14 Forces, why don't they present them? We know that they don't have any proof."
Geagea also said he supports the deployment of international observers along the Lebanese-Syrian border. to "halt weapon smuggling." - The Daily Star
Crisis in Beirut threatens success of Paris III - analysts
Premier expected to unveil new reform plan designed to sway donors
By Osama Habib
Daily Star staff
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
BEIRUT: Prime Minister Fouad Siniora is still counting on the Paris III donor conference to rescue Lebanon from its diverse economic problems but not many economists are confident that the government will receive sufficient funds amid the deep political crisis. The premier has warned in an earlier interview with The Daily Star that Lebanon will be in trouble if Paris III is not held, underlining the importance of a cash injection to address such challenges as the public debt and reconstruction drive.
Siniora, who is surrounded by angry protesters outside the Grand Serail, is not in an enviable position. President Emile Lahoud refuses to sign any decree or proposal submitted by the Cabinet, and Speaker Nabih Berri has no intention of calling for a session to discuss any reform paper. All these factors, according to some analysts, will complicate the work of Siniora and his team.
Lebanon is looking forward to the donor conference to reduce debt servicing, seen as the largest spending item in the government's budget.
A senior government source said that Siniora plans to disclose details of the new economic reform paper to the public before leaving for Paris in January.
"The prime minister will disclose the 25-page program in a press conference soon. The paper will touch on all the important issues," the source said.
He added that the donor countries and international organizations want to examine the reform proposal before making any commitment.
A leading economist warned against raising hopes too high at this stage.
"I don't believe the donor states will pledge enough money for Lebanon if the conference is held next month. Lebanon needs to sort out its current problems before approaching the donor states," economist Louis Hobeika said.
He added that the donor countries will not turn their back on Lebanon during the conference but expressed doubt that the money the government will receive will be up to expectations.
Hobeika argued that delaying Paris III for six to seven months would be wiser.
"We can get some money to stand on our feet from some of Lebanon's friends," he told The Daily Star, "but the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund will not be inclined to support the government wholeheartedly if the economic reform plan is not comprehensive."
He also proposed the election of a new president before talking about Paris III.
An-Nahar newspaper said on Monday that Siniora will distribute the economic reform plan to all Cabinet members, including the six ministers who resigned last month.
According to the paper, the scenario aims to reduce the debt-to-GDP ratio from 195 percent to 135 percent over the next five years.
The paper will also call for the privatization of the telecoms and electricity sectors, as well as the sale of the government's share in Middle East Airlines and Intra Investment Company.
The paper calls for raising the value added tax from 10 percent to 12 percent in 2008 and 15 percent in 2010. Taxes on interest paid on bank deposits would increase from 5 percent to 7 percent in 2008.
Finance Minister Jihad Azour presented a blueprint before the outbreak of the war in July but initial reactions from both ministers and the private sector were not enthusiastic.
The public debt is expected to reach more than $41 billion at the end of 2006 and $45 billion in 2007.The delusion of a dialogue with Syria
By Ammar Abdulhamid -Daily Star
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
Despite frequent claims to the contrary, the fundamental problem in the Middle East is not intervention by the West. On the contrary, the real problem is that, for all their dabbling, the Western powers seem capable of neither war nor dialogue. This leaves everyone in the region at the mercy of the Middle East's oppressive regimes and proliferating terrorists.
Advocates of the Iraq war lacked an understanding of the complexities on the ground to wage an effective war of liberation and democratization. As a result, their policies merely ended up eliminating Iran's two major regional rivals: the Taliban and Saddam Hussein's regime. This presented Iran with a golden opportunity to project itself as a regional hegemon, and Iran's leaders are unlikely to let this opportunity slip away.
Advocates of dialogue with the Iranians and their Syrian allies, like former US Secretary of State James Baker, labor under the delusion that they can actually reach an understanding that would enable a graceful US exit from Iraq and help stabilize that wounded country. The delusion is based on two false assumptions: that the Iranians and the Syrians can succeed in Iraq where the US has failed; and that the international community can afford to pay the price of ensuring their cooperation.
True, Syria and Iran are playing a major role in supporting Iraqi insurgents, and Syria is still encouraging the trafficking of jihadists and weapons across its borders with Iraq. But the idea that these activities can be halted at will is naive.
For one thing, the interests of the Shiite communities in Iraq and Iran are not the same. Iraqi Shiites have never accepted Iranian dictates, and many took part in Saddam's war against Iran in the 1980s. After all, the Iraqi Shiites are Arabs, and if they are now willing to coordinate their activities with their Persian counterparts, their main goal will always be to secure an independent course as soon as possible, even while they carry on with their internecine disputes within Iraq. Iran is in no better a position than the United States to convince them to resolve their differences.
President Bashar Assad of Syria faces a similar dilemma. Although he has opened Syria's border to jihadists and has allowed Saddam's supporters to operate freely there, that choice may not be entirely his. Syria's aid to Saddam in maneuvering around the United Nations' oil-for food program brought Iraqi money to inhabitants of the border region, who have always been closer in customs, dialect, and outlook to their Iraqi neighbors than to their fellow Syrians. In the absence of government investment, local inhabitants' loyalty went to Iraqi Baathists who helped improve their lot. Indeed, even local security apparatuses have been unwilling to comply with instructions from Assad and his clique to seal the borders.
Under these circumstances, neither Syria nor Iran seems capable of delivering anything but mayhem in Iraq. What, then, would the proposed dialogue between the US and these states achieve other than continue to empower their corrupt yet ambitious regimes?
The story gets more complicated when one considers the UN inquiry into the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Assad wants nothing more than to see this affair forgotten - and the proponents of dialogue think that they can give him what he wants in the hope of breaking Syria's alliance with Iran.
But that is merely another erroneous (not to mention amoral) assumption. The alliance between Syria and Iran dates back more than two decades, and was explicitly reaffirmed by the two ruling regimes as recently as January 2005. Indeed, the two are now joined at the hip. Assad's recent refusal to attend a summit in Tehran with his Iranian and Iraqi counterparts was a mere tactical move designed to appeal to the proponents of dialogue.
In fact, Iran has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in Syria, and annual bilateral trade tops $1 billion. Growing Iranian influence over the Syrian security apparatus is well established, and Iran is funding an effort to create Syrian Shiite militias to compensate for Assad's sagging support in the army and in the minority Alawite community. Assad cannot turn his back on all of this. No deal would be sweet enough, even if it included the return of the Golan Heights. For Assad and his supporters, survival is more important than sovereignty.
Still, to read the well-known names of commentators and policymakers who are recommending engaging Syria and Iran is a testament to how inconsequential and cut off the Western powers have become from the realities on the ground in the world's most turbulent region. That, it seems, is the price of their arrogance.
Ammar Abdulhamid is a Syrian author, blogger and dissident. He runs the Tharwa Foundation, an independent initiative that focuses on diversity issues in the region. THE DAILY STAR