Damascus Foils Attack
Israel & Lebanon
Syrian security foiled an attack on the US embassy in Damascus by elements of the radical Jund al-Sham (Army of Syria), which has radical Sunni fundamentalist views. US Secretary of State Condi Rice expressed her government's gratitude for Syria's prompt and effective intervention. Syria has been a US ally twice in the past 20 years, first in the Gulf War and again after 2001 when it cooperated in the struggle against al-Qaeda. Since 2003 or so, anti-Syria hawks such as David Wurmser, a national security adviser to VP Richard Bruce Cheney, have managed to turn administration policy toward enmity with Damascus.
David Wearing on Britain's role in the Israeli-Hizbullah War.
posted by Juan Cole @ 9/13/2006 12:23:00 AM
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4 Comments:
How "real" do you think this attack was? My very first thoughts on hearing this was 1) "How convenient for the administration to have another fear-mongering event to work with just before the election," and 2) "I wonder just how much of a hand Damascus had in staging this and then 'repelling' it to either make themselves look stronger or to try and convince our administration that they are anti-terrorist."
Bah.
The US also accidentally fired on Syrian border security personnel a few months ago (perhaps even killed or captured; my memory is hazy), and Syria - admirably, IMHO - did not freak out, which I believe they'd have been within their rights to do. Facts on the ground say they're being relatively cooperative; the rhetoric of course is that they're the Next Big Antichrist.
How incredibly bizarre the press conference was. Tony Snow thanked Syria for saving Americans from terrorists, then condemned Syria for supporting Hizbullah terrorists.
So that's it! Syria has been an ally of United States in the last 20 yrs. I don't get the point why US needed to conquer Irag in order for them to get the respect of the Arabs. Isn't syria enough? After Iraq and Afghanistan, who's next?
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