Israel Matzav

How's that Syrian 'engagement' working out?

Elliott Abrams reports on the results of President Obama's policy of 'engaging' with Syria.

Within the past week, Iraq has withdrawn its ambassador from Damascus and accused Syria of involvement in terrorist incidents in Baghdad. Iraqi TV has also aired a confession by an accused al Qaeda terrorist, a Saudi who claimed he had been trained in Syria--by the Asad regime's intelligence services. Nor is this all. Syria continues to support Hezbollah's blocking of the formation of a government in Lebanon, backing Hezbollah in its demand for a "blocking third" that would prevent any decisions Hezbollah opposes in any new Cabinet. The Palestinian terrorist groups remain headquartered in Damascus, and under no visible restraints. And on August 19, President Bashar Asad paid a visit to President Ahmadinejad in Tehran, to showcase his support of the latter during the current Iranian political crisis.

...

Watching the smiling Mitchell shaking hands with Asad, Syrians knew that any hope of American pressure for human rights progress was in vain as well. Neither Mitchell nor Obama has ever mentioned the subject publicly, and if Mitchell has asked Asad to release any particular political prisoners that fact has been kept secret. In fact the president of the Syrian Human Rights Organization, Muhanad Al-Hasani, was imprisoned on July 28, four weeks after Mitchell's last visit.

Jennifer Rubin argues that the result of Obama's failed policies everyplace else is continued pressure on the Israelis.

At bottom, Obama’s Middle East policy is an exercise in passive-aggressiveness. We are snubbed by the Arabs, our soldiers are murdered by terrorists streaming in from Syria, and the Iranians ignore the international community in pursuit of nuclear weapons. So Obama screams at Israel for allowing Jews to build apartments in East Jerusalem and for evicting Palestinians who have violated their leases. Well, maybe the Israelis will listen to us, right? No one else does.

The Israelis shouldn't be listening to Obama either. He's never going to do what needs to be done on Iran, so what interest do we have in coddling him?

It's time to tune out America until there's a real change in Washington. What could go wrong?

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 7:10 PM