Israel Matzav

Bashar al-Assad's awesomely wonderful week

Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad has had an awesome week. On Sunday, at the Arab League summit, he called for the 'Palestinians' to ditch negotiations with Israel. On Wednesday, old enemy Walid Jumblatt of Lebanon coming to kiss and make up. And on Thursday, US Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John F.N. Kerry came for a shmooze and a disgusting display of hero worship with the terror supporter. Here's Jumblatt.

Improved ties between Walid Jumblatt and Damascus could boost Syria's role in Lebanese politics five years after its troops were forced out of Lebanon. The Syrians withdrew in April 2005, ending nearly three decades of domination of their smaller neighbor.

In 2007, Jumblatt told a crowd of tens of thousands of supporters that Assad was a "snake" and a "tyrant" and called for revenge against him.

About three weeks ago, he called those remarks "improper."

The leader of Lebanon's terror Hizbullah group Hassan Nasrallah mediated between the Syrians and Jumblatt for several months.

Like Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri, the Assads were behind the murder of Jumblatt's father.

That was Wednesday. On Thursday, Kerry came to town.

Assad on Sunday called on Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to ditch negotiations with Israel in favor of “armed resistance.”

Kerry, nonetheless, said in Damascus following a three-hour meeting with Assad that Syria was committed to engaging in peace-making and was essential to the Mideast process.

Does anyone in Washington see a contradiction between those two sentences? (I mean 'official Washington'). “

Syria is an essential player in bringing peace and stability to the region,” said Kerry, who has long advocated US engagement with Damascus.

“He believes in engagement with Syria, and that through engagement the Syrians can be convinced to play a more helpful role in the Arab-Israeli process,” a Kerry aide noted. “This is part of his ongoing [efforts].”

In Israel last month, Kerry discussed Syria’s relationship with Iran, saying that “no one should be surprised, given the relationship of the last years, that discussions are continuing between Syria and Iran.”

The two countries are neighbors, he said, “and they have obviously been pushed somewhat together by the events of the last years. My hope is that we can offer a better alternative, a better set of choices.”

What's more likely is that Syria will pocket whatever the US (and Israel) gives them and continue their friendship with Iran and their financing of Hamas and Hezbullah.

What could go wrong?

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 3:40 PM