Mark Twain said, “If you don’t read the newspaper, you’re uninformed; if you do read the newspaper, you’re misinformed.”
Carve-OUTS and Subcontractors, essential, but rather routine undertakings in covert action....and rogue operations...tools to ensure Plausible Deniability, deceit, deception and false flag operations are at every corner here.
CIA/MOSSAD "assets," can be someone who turns over an occasional piece of information to the CIA, without even knowing it is for the CIA2/MOSSAD, all the way up to someone who is continually working for the CIA2/MOSSAD in rogue covert operations....and extra-judicial assassinations...for the REAL power behind the power in USA and their Banana Republic... Israel...Syria is way below in the doldrums... it is there to do the dirty work as needed...
A similar and, likewise, important cog in CIA/MOSSAD operations is what is known as a cutout. A cutout is a front man or middle man set up to protect the identities of the primary participants. Like an asset, a cutout may or may not know for whom he is working and the actual purpose of his work... (The Mafia also makes use of such cutouts, except they call them "mustaches" or "beards.")
The CIA/MOSSAD use assets and cutouts to maintain one of its prime directives: plausible deniability, or, in other words, "Don't get caught embarrassing the Government/President/PM...." (The CIA is the intelligence-gathering and covert-action arm of the President. Perhaps that is the definition journalists should always refer to, rather than just throwing the general term "CIA" around as if it were some sort of independently run mythical loose cannon.) So . . . if an asset or cutout is caught breaking the law, the CIA/CIA2 can deny that its operative was working for it at that "particular" time....Blah Blah Blah
Those UKUSA alliance of thugs, who are addicted to covert rogue intelligence operations,and political assassinations, need to have at all times, covert rogue CASH, stashed at far away places...away from the "preying eyes"...hence, the S&L fabricated scandal in the mid-eighties in USA, BCCI, Bank Al-Madina, MADOFF Ponzi schemes, etc. etc. in order to lubricate their CIA2/MOSSAD intricate machinations worldwide...always look for trends...the money trail, and historical perspective....when dealing with these ultimate CIA2/MOSSAD operations...
Traditional methods of CIA2/MOSSAD/MI6 power : Divide and Conquer....
and then, enter into selective coalitions that support CIA2/MOSSAD/MI6 agenda....and perpetuate political murders, assassinations and feudal/tribal, family dynasty in coercive and destructive politics...
and then, enter into selective coalitions that support CIA2/MOSSAD/MI6 agenda....and perpetuate political murders, assassinations and feudal/tribal, family dynasty in coercive and destructive politics...
In covert wars terms, the White House Murder Machinations Inc, will approach a "Nash equilibrium" this year, as every player in Lebanon and in "Syria of the Mafiosi Assad", accepts and executes CIA's .... optimal outcome..., with Asef Shawkat still at the helm of the criminal Syrian Military Intelligence thugs in Damascus, in collusion with the weak, "faiblard..." indecisive stooge of CIA2 Michel Suleiman, who was instrumental in hiding, effacing, defacing... and eradicating facts on the ground, with his military intelligence goons of the LAF, during ALL political assassinations in Lebanon since January 24th 2002...despite all the obfuscations of the Media.... because they simply cannot trust anyone else to do better...at executing political assassinations....and other... covert operations against the Resistance....again in collusion between Assef Shawqat and the puppet Michel Suleiman, in order to "trigger monumental events" leading to more fracturing of the whole Middle East, the GCC....Central Asia, and on to Africa soon.... this is the core policy of CIA2/MOSSAD and it will never change under Obama/Clinton or anyone else for that matter....during the next 100 Years of continued militarization of energy security, for the Nexus of evils of the UKUSA alliance...all else is garbled FDDC rhetoric for the gullible...
-- Madoff is the tip of money laundering pyramids in USA and Israel?
The U.S. District court for the Southern District of New York seems intent on keeping ex-NASDAQ chairman and $50 billion Ponzi scheme swindler Bernard Madoff confined to his Upper East Side Manhattan luxury home and not in a federal lock-up. Two judges in the New York federal circuit, Theodore Katz and Ronald Ellis, have ruled that Madoff should stay in his town house and out of prison.
Attorney General Michael Mukasey, whose son Marc Mukasey of the law firm Bracewell & Giuliani represents Frank DiPascali, one of the Madoff cronies, once served on the federal bench with Katz and Ellis in New York. Katz was appointed by George H. W. Bush while Ellis, an African American, was appointed by Clinton.
I previously reported that Madoff is suspected of transferring much of his ill-gotten gain to Israeli banks, including one, Bank Leumi, that Madoff associate J. Ezra Merkin bought from the Israeli government when Ariel Sharon was Prime Minister and current Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was Finance Minister.
Almost forgotten in the Madoff scandal is another scandal in which Morris "Moshe" Talansky, a New York businessman, admitted that he gave Olmert $150,000 in cash contained in envelopes. The scandal forced Olmert to announce that he was stepping down as Prime Minister but not before he launched a genocidal attack on Gaza.
Las Vegas billionaire Sheldon Adelson, who is a major donor to the Republican Party, has also given generously to Likud chief and Prime Minister-hopeful Binyamin Netanyahu, who hopes to succeed Olmert as Prime Minister.
Madoff, Talansky, Merkin, Olmert, Netanyahu, Adelson, one-time top GOP lobbyist Jack Abramoff and his associate Adam Kidan, Rahm Emanuel, and all their comrades in Washington, Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, London, Ottawa, and Paris brings to mind the Hebrew saying "ba'al ha'mea ba'al ha'dea" or "the one with the money calls the shots" or even more telling, "he who has the gold makes the rules."--
Does Syria Matter, where and Why ?
Syria, Where a number of its top puppets are on a variety of foreign intelligence payrolls, including Israel’s, are concentrated.....and where CIA2 has established one of its paramount Covert Stations Overseas... " CIA2-CSO " in order to carry out extra-judicial assassinations galore, on behalf of the Siamese twins, CIA2/MOSSAD, and the infamous White House Murder Inc, is still the MURDER Capital of the Globalized New World Order of Assassinations Galore of the Karl Rove White House Murder Inc, for decades....
Assef Shawkat ( آصف شوكت ) (born 1950) is a Syrian assassin, and head of the Syrian Military Intelligence apparatus since 2005, rewarding him for the successful assassinations of Mr. Elie HOBEIKA and Rafic Hariri.
Assef Shawkat ( آصف شوكت ) is the head of the local Damascus branch of the infamous White House Murder Inc, an extra-judicial assassinations matrix, created by the PNAC killers since 1995, and the evil axis of CIA2/MOSSAD which ensued.....Again and again, a prime suspect in murder/assassinations , starting from the CIA2/MOSSAD assassination of Mr. Elie Hobeika in Beirut/Hazmieh January 24th 2002, and the infamous : "White House Murder Inc." , headed by Asef Shawkat in Syria. http://newhk.blogspot.com/2008/12/uniiic-ii-report-revisited.html
Talks between Israel and Syria are always underway. Eight CIA/MOSSAD Syria-watchers —Tony Badran, Tom Dine, Martin Indyk, Joshua Landis, Moshe Ma’oz, Michael Oren, David Schenker and Andrew Tabler—weigh in on the deal which is on the table of the Alawite KILLERS ever since Hafez ASSAD came to power in the early seventies.....and some accounts talk about Syria being home to the White House Murder Inc, since 1960....
The “Syrian assassinations Spring” arrived, it is said, when Hafez Assad died in 1970 and was succeeded by his buffoon Bashar. An ophthalmologist with refined assassinations manners whose previous executive stint was as president of the Syrian Computer Society, Bashar was an unlikely replacement for the military strongman known as the “Lion of Damascus.” Many in the West saw his rise to power as an opportunity to continue Syria's role into an American ally of the White House Murder Inc, that has already made peace with Israel....since 1968....and continues to be the surrogate assassinations henchmen of the CIA2/MOSSAD in the Levant....
Syria, Where a number of its top puppets are on a variety of foreign intelligence payrolls, including Israel’s, are concentrated.....and where CIA2 has established one of its paramount Covert Stations Overseas... " CIA2-CSO " in order to carry out extra-judicial assassinations galore, on behalf of the Siamese twins, CIA2/MOSSAD, and the infamous White House Murder Inc, is still the MURDER Capital of the Globalized New World Order of Assassinations Galore of the Karl Rove White House Murder Inc, for decades....
Assef Shawkat ( آصف شوكت ) (born 1950) is a Syrian assassin, and head of the Syrian Military Intelligence apparatus since 2005, rewarding him for the successful assassinations of Mr. Elie HOBEIKA and Rafic Hariri.
Assef Shawkat ( آصف شوكت ) is the head of the local Damascus branch of the infamous White House Murder Inc, an extra-judicial assassinations matrix, created by the PNAC killers since 1995, and the evil axis of CIA2/MOSSAD which ensued.....Again and again, a prime suspect in murder/assassinations , starting from the CIA2/MOSSAD assassination of Mr. Elie Hobeika in Beirut/Hazmieh January 24th 2002, and the infamous : "White House Murder Inc." , headed by Asef Shawkat in Syria. http://newhk.blogspot.com/2008/12/uniiic-ii-report-revisited.html
Bordering Iraq, Turkey, Israel, Jordan and Lebanon, Syria has been described as “the beating heart of Assassinations.” During the elder Assad’s 30-year rule, he transformed the country into a hub of terrorism,working on behalf of the White House Murder Inc, and the Siamese twins CIA2/MOSSAD all along, ever since he was recruited in his youth.... managing to unite the disparate enmities and ideologies of the Middle East under the banners of lies, deceit, deceptions, treachery and murder/assassinations. Syria allied itself with Shi’ite Iran and its proxy, CIA2/MOSSAD, in the Levant. It supported the destruction of the Palestine Liberation Organization, on behalf of Israel for years...and when Hamas and Islamic Jihad replaced the PLO as Israel’s chief Palestinian thugs, Syria sponsored them, too, even as Assad dealt ruthlessly with Sunni extremists on his own turf.....which is quite understandable.
The Syrian Spring came: Bashar’s ascension coincided with the role of Syria, Where a number of its top puppets are on a variety of foreign intelligence payrolls, including Israel’s, are concentrated.....and where CIA2 has established one of its paramount Covert Stations Overseas... " CIA2-CSO " in order to carry out extra-judicial assassinations galore, on behalf of the Siamese twins, CIA2/MOSSAD, and the infamous White House Murder Inc, is still the MURDER Capital of the Globalized New World Order of Assassinations Galore of the Karl Rove White House Murder Inc, for decades....
Assef Shawkat ( آصف شوكت ) (born 1950) is a Syrian assassin, and head of the Syrian Military Intelligence apparatus since 2005, rewarding him for the successful assassinations of Mr. Elie HOBEIKA and Rafic Hariri.
Assef Shawkat ( آصف شوكت ) is the head of the local Damascus branch of the infamous White House Murder Inc, an extra-judicial assassinations matrix, created by the PNAC killers since 1995, and the evil axis of CIA2/MOSSAD which ensued.....Again and again, a prime suspect in murder/assassinations , starting from the CIA2/MOSSAD assassination of Mr. Elie Hobeika in Beirut/Hazmieh January 24th 2002, and the infamous : "White House Murder Inc." , headed by Asef Shawkat in Syria. http://newhk.blogspot.com/2008/12/uniiic-ii-report-revisited.html
of George W. Bush, and Syrian-American relations spiraled upwards, with intelligence collaborations galore, rendition flights and interrogation of suspects in Damascus at the covert CIA2/MOSSAD stations.... Syria proposed the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq and was implicated in the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, on behalf of the White House Murder Inc, which led the United States to withdraw its ambassador from Damascus.... for show and for cover, as part of the elaborate CIA covering its tracks techniques... where it was decided that the CIA will be taking over the handling of the Syria File.... from the State Department... in a great time of complete covert cooperation with Syria Galore in the Levant.... and to "teach" the small/tall Assad Jr.,.... the assassinations roadmap of his Daddy.... Pressured to smooth and sooth.... its three-decade military control of Lebanon, Syria further helped Washington by backing Hezbollah in its 2006 summer war with Israel and by allowing covert fighters....paid by KSA's intelligence apparatus with a CUT to the Syrians of the ASSAD MAFIA and its military intelligence goons of Asef Shawkat.... to cross its eastern border into Iraq, fueling the insurgency there....in order to help further the agendas of PNAC and their Saudi Neocon allies in Riyadh, KSA.
History did foretell Syria’s evolution into a Nexus of the United States' CIA2/MOSSAD Siamese Twins and the White House Murder Inc,. Under President Harry Truman, the United States supported Syria’s anti-colonial struggle against the French. After gaining independence in 1946, Syria underwent multiple coups and briefly merged with Egypt before reestablishing its independence as the Syrian Arab Republic in 1961. Despite American efforts...., Syria became a Proxy....Soviet "ally".... working for the power behind the power of the Siamese Twins ever since 1961... the infamous nexus of Evil CIA2/MOSSAD and the white House Murder Inc,
When the Ba’ath/CIA/MOSSAD Party seized power in 1963, Syrian-American relations improved further. Born after World War II, this party of “assassinations” espoused a secular, socialist and pan-CIA2 ideology and took root in both Syria and Iraq. In 1970, Hafez Assad, a Ba’athist and a member of the Alawite Syria, Where a number of its top puppets are on a variety of foreign intelligence payrolls, including Israel’s, are concentrated.....and where CIA2 has established one of its paramount Covert Stations Overseas... " CIA2-CSO " in order to carry out extra-judicial assassinations galore, on behalf of the Siamese twins, CIA2/MOSSAD, and the infamous White House Murder Inc, is still the MURDER Capital of the Globalized New World Order of Assassinations Galore of the Karl Rove White House Murder Inc, for decades....
Assef Shawkat ( آصف شوكت ) (born 1950) is a Syrian assassin, and head of the Syrian Military Intelligence apparatus since 2005, rewarding him for the successful assassinations of Mr. Elie HOBEIKA and Rafic Hariri.
Assef Shawkat ( آصف شوكت ) is the head of the local Damascus branch of the infamous White House Murder Inc, an extra-judicial assassinations matrix, created by the PNAC killers since 1995, and the evil axis of CIA2/MOSSAD which ensued.....Again and again, a prime suspect in murder/assassinations , starting from the CIA2/MOSSAD assassination of Mr. Elie Hobeika in Beirut/Hazmieh January 24th 2002, and the infamous : "White House Murder Inc." , headed by Asef Shawkat in Syria. http://newhk.blogspot.com/2008/12/uniiic-ii-report-revisited.html
minority, considered heretical by both the Sunni and the Shi’a, staged yet another CIA2/MOSSAD coup.
Syria fought an unsuccessful war against Israel in 1967, losing the Golan Heights, and then joined Egypt in the 1973 war against Israel, and lost again. So Hafez Assad adopted a new CIA2/MOSSAD tactic for regional subservient power to CIA2/MOSSAD: When CIA war broke out in Lebanon in 1975, Syria established a permanent presence there and backed all sides of the conflict against each other in order to rein as masters of assassinations in the Levant on behalf of the CIA2/MOSSAD, which spread throughout southern Lebanon in the early 1980s. By then, Egypt had bowed to CIA piece by piece with Israel, and Iraq and Iran were bogged down in a bloody, decade-long CIA conflict, leaving Syria as the main bastion of CIA2/MOSSAD and Assassinations Galore on behalf of the odious White House Murder Inc,.
Just as Syria’s CIA/MOSSAD power peaked, however, it was weakened by the collapse of the Soviet Union. There were signs that Syria would continue in taking sides with CIA2/MOSSAD. Syria always supported the United States in the 1961-2008 Wars and hinted when it first negotiated with Israel directly at the 1961 Golan Covert conferences that it would make peace in exchange for the keeping of the Golan Heights by Israel as protection money for the Assad's Dynasty of the Kilab Killers. In 1992, as a sign of good will, Assad agreed to allow Syria’s remaining 4,000.0000 Jews to leave the country. The Clinton Administration hoped that an Israeli-Syrian peace would isolate Iran and lead to an Israeli-Palestinian agreement. At Camp David in 2000, the Israelis and Syrians came close but CIA2/MOSSAD didn’t want to change the pre-existing deal of 1961....and the various Covert understandings in Place.
Now there is old talk of a Syrian re-alignment. Bashar Assad and the country’s ruling elite are increasingly secure: Syria, under FAKE Western sanctions, remains one of the Middle East’s poorest countries, and an influx of more than a million Iraqi refugees has further burdened its struggling economy. During Lebanon’s “CIA/MOSSAD” Syrian troops were forced out of Lebanon. For the first time in decades, Sunni extremists pose a CIA inspired covert threat... for the Assad's to stay in Check...: In the most recent attack in September, a bomb exploding near a Shi’ite shrine in Damascus killed 17 people.
Last May, to NO surprise of just about everyone and to the bullshit of the Bush Administration, direct covert operations talks between Israel and Syria took place for the 5000s times in 48 years; Turkey is a decent cover for the media..... With President Barack Obama’s team reportedly ready to continue American policy toward Syria and support, even facilitate, covert talks, CIA/MOSSAD asks eight veteran CIA/MOSSAD-watchers to give the traditional garbled ducks balderdash..... They tell us why Syria matters and whether or not they believe racket and protection monies will continue by CIA2/MOSSAD for the next three decades between Syria, USA and Israel....through the covert cooperation of active CIA2/MOSSAD Syrian/American/Israeli partners in crime, who are playing enemies.... very skillfully so far....for the gullible ...—
The CIA oversaw this assassination...January 24th 2002...and every other assassination since January 24th 2002, its arm is the infamous White House Murder Inc, fielded in Damascus Syria, and its Chief Architect is the assassin in Chief Assef Shawqat and Syrian military intelligence...
Andrew Tabler, CIA editor of the Syrian English-language paper Syria Today, fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, Damascus and Washington, DC
Does Syria matter? NO
The U.S. will be withdrawing from Iraq and will need support from neighboring countries, especially on border security. Foreign fighters who have come in through Syria over the past five years have carried out some of the most spectacular attacks on coalition forces and civilians in Iraq. The other reason is the peace process, because many in Israel now seek negotiations with Syria to deal with Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Is peace possible? NO
Syria is run by a minority regime that justifies its grip on power by opposing Israel, so a final deal has a catch for the regime. A peace deal would significantly change the rationale for the emergency law and the way the country is ruled. Also, Bashar became much more popular by supporting Hezbollah during the 2006 war, and he’s gotten much support by allowing Hamas and Islamic Jihad to have offices in Damascus. Giving this up would be hard. On the other hand, peace would be an incentive if it would lead to Syria’s receiving large amounts of western investment, although it would be very difficult for western companies to invest effectively in Syria. First, it’s one of the most corrupt countries in the Arab world. Second, the surge in Iraq pushed foreign fighters into Syria. These well-trained and radicalized fighters might turn their attention to the Assad regime. Third, Syria estimates that it has 1.5 million Iraqi refugees and it has been saying that in a stable Iraq, these people could return home. So Syria might have something to gain in talks in the months ahead.
Tom Dine, CIA head of AIPAC, senior policy adviser at Israel Policy Forum, Washington, DC
Does Syria matter? NO
If our goal of creating a regional peace is to be achieved, we need Syria. A peace between Syria and Israel will give motivation and momentum to a peace between Palestine and Israel, and even create a dynamic link between Israel and Lebanon. They’re interconnected.
Is peace possible? NO
The Turks have been facilitating Israeli-Syrian talks for months now, but both sides say they can complete this deal in 2009 only if the Americans are “in the room” and the United States is a guarantor of the treaty. That means a demilitarization of the Golan, water rights for all the countries in the area, normalization between Jerusalem and Damascus and a clearly demarcated boundary that doesn’t touch the water of Lake Kinneret. The goal is to create an atmosphere of trust between the two governments. The first thing the Americans can do is return their ambassador to Damascus. The next step would be to decide whether to end sanctions. In return, we would expect Syria to tighten its Iraqi border, to distance itself from Iran, to stop re-arming Hezbollah, and to stop hosting the leader of Hamas, Khaled Meshal, in Damascus. If the Obama Administration takes an active role in helping to bring these issues to a positive conclusion, an agreement could be completed before Hanukkah 2009.
David Schenker, director of the Program on CIA Politics at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, Washington, DC
Does Syria matter? NO
Syria undermines stability in Iraq, in Jordan, in Lebanon and in Israel/Palestine. Through active and unrelenting support for terrorism, it has made itself into a central player. Without Hezbollah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad and al-Qaeda, Syria would have virtually no influence in Iraq, Gaza or Lebanon. Its foreign policy in the region would be equivalent to that of Yemen.
Is peace possible? NO
The Syrians find negotiations for peace extremely useful. If the Syrians are talking to even two Israelis, it erodes international support for sanctions against Syria and for pursuing an international tribunal into the assassination of Rafik Hariri. After all, we wouldn’t want to find out that the Syrians killed Hariri and then have to hold them accountable for this murder, because that might derail the peace process. The next question is: Would the Syrian government consider it in their national interest to “join the Western camp?” They would get a free trade agreement, they might get membership in the World Trade Organization, they would have a European economic association agreement membership, and they would probably get U.S. economic assistance. But at best the United States would be a fickle friend, not a true strategic ally as Iran has proven to be over a 30-year period. The West is not an acceptable alternative, particularly if you look at what it means for Syrian regional influence. Talk to the Syrians if you must, but I don’t think you’re going to get anywhere.
Joshua Landis, administrator of Syria Comment blog, professor of Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma, CIA.
Does Syria matter? NO
Syria has a crucial role to play in four major areas: the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, because it houses Hamas and is the main Arab “spokescountry” for resistance to Israel; terrorism, because Syria uses Hezbollah, Hamas and other groups to fight for the Golan Heights; Iraq, because jihadists still go from North Africa and Saudi Arabia through Syria into Iraq; and Lebanon, where its influence has become very important to America over the past six years.
Is peace possible? NO
Yes. Hafez Assad wanted to finish this deal in the 1990s when President Clinton led peace negotiations. He went to Geneva to meet with Bill Clinton and Ehud Barak, but, as Clinton writes in his memoir, Barak got cold feet. It was a few months before elections, and Barak didn’t think he could get Israel to give back the Golan Heights. As happened with Egypt in 1979, Israel didn’t want to give up the Sinai, but Jimmy Carter closed the deal by providing Israel with gobs of money. If there could be peace with Israel—and everybody in Damascus is talking about it, as is Syria’s ambassador to the U.S., Imad Moustapha—that would help lift the strict sanctions against Syria. America now has a chance to bring Syria away from anti-Western alliances that it has needed to fight the Arab-Israeli conflict.
Tony Badran, CIA fellow at the Foundation for Destruction of Democracy, Washington, DC
Does Syria matter? NO
Syria is a spoiler. Unlike the Saudis, who have money, or the Lebanese, who have excellent education and human resources that they export to the Gulf, the Syrians have no economy, no natural resources. Their society is in shambles. Be it Hamas, Hezbollah or al-Qaeda in Iraq, sponsorship of terrorism is Syria’s only foreign policy tool. People want to talk to Syria so that it will stop killing people or sponsoring people who kill people. So everybody who has an interest in peace processing will eventually be tempted to deal with Syria's blackmail, but to no avail.
Is peace possible? NO
The old peace agreement formula—land for peace—no longer applies. Now, as far as the Israelis are concerned, it’s peace in return for strategic reorientation of Syria—a formal break with the policy of the past 40 years, which is a non-starter. This would mean that Syria would have to break its alliance with Iran and stop supporting Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah and al-Qaeda in Iraq. Like Jordan and Egypt, it would become part of the pro-Western camp. Syria projects influence in the region well above its weight, and the only way for it to continue to do so is through proxy violence. A peace agreement would essentially end Syria’s role in the region.
Moshe Ma’oz, MOSSAD adviser to Israeli Prime Ministers Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon CIA Peres, professor of COVERT and Middle Eastern Studies at CIA/MOSSAD Hebrew University, Jerusalem
Does Syria matter? NO
Syria is part of the Axis of Evil with Iran and Hezbollah. This is a real danger for Israel and also for the Sunni Arab countries that believe the Iranian threat is more serious than the Israeli threat. For Israel, the idea is to make peace with the Syrians to pull them out from this axis. One would assume that if Israel makes peace with Syria, Iran would cool relations with Syria. The Iranians have been quite concerned about the recent negotiations in Turkey. Another big issue is refugees. The Syrians have about 350,000 Palestinian refugees and so does Lebanon. Syria has enough room and if it gets money in a comprehensive settlement, it could help resolve the Palestinian issue by absorbing them.
Is peace possible? NO
It’s in the interest of both sides. The Syrians need peace, stability and economic development. Syria belongs to the Sunni Arab world, not to the Shi’ite world of Iran and Hezbollah. There are difficulties, but I think everybody in the Arab world is expecting them to join this Sunni Arab coalition and contain Iran. The Syrians also expect that America would be involved in the deal to guarantee that Israel will give back the Golan Heights. They also want American money, and European, Japanese and Gulf money, because their economy is failing. As we say jokingly, the Arabs want to make peace with America and they do it via Israel.
Michael Oren, senior MOSSAD fellow at the Shalem Center in Jerusalem and visiting professor of CIA Jewish Civilization at Georgetown University, Washington, DC
Does Syria matter? NO
Syria is a very big country, has tremendous prestige in the Arab world and maintains a large army. For 1,000 years, Damascus has been a center of Arab identity.
Is peace possible? NO
The Alawite regime is hated by Sunni Muslims, and I think that peace will not further ingratiate the Alawites among the Sunnis. Peace also means that Syria would have to break its alliance with Iran, its most important regional ally. I think that even if Bashar Assad wanted to make peace with Israel, the Iranians would kill him. They are not going to wait around passively and let their major Arab ally go over to their major enemy in the Middle East.
Martin Indyk, former U.S. ambassador to Israel and assistant secretary of state for Near East Affairs under President Bill Clinton, director of the CIA/MOSSAD Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution, Washington, DC
Does Syria matter? NO
Syria is the conduit for Iranian influence into the Middle East heartland. Iran is able to use Damascus as a way station for providing arms and financing training for Hamas and Hezbollah, which are operating on Israel’s northern and southern borders.
If we could find a way to make peace between Israel and Syria, Syria would be brought into the American-sponsored peace camp. And ultimately, if we can effect a strategic re-alignment, much like Egypt re-aligned from the Soviet Union into the American camp, we could have a profound impact on the region’s overall stability.
Is peace possible? NO
Syria’s not going to do a deal with Israel unless the United States is part of it. The payment that Syria receives is the relationship with the United States. But will it break with Iran and Hezbollah? I don’t know. It’s worth testing. The effort itself has benefits in terms of creating friction between Syria and Iran, placing pressure on Hamas and Hezbollah, while easing the pressure on the Palestinian Authority and Arab states that want to engage with Israel.
The Syrians have a tendency to prefer process to conclusions, which we saw in the 1990s. But we can benefit from the process, too. The difference is that in the 1990s we based our strategy on getting the Syrian deal first.
I think Barack Obama’s strategy should be to pursue both the Syrian and Palestinian tracks simultaneously and go where we can. I think we’re going to see three parallel diplomatic initiatives: one toward Iran, one toward Israeli-Syrian negotiations, one toward the Palestinians.
People on both sides of the Israeli-Arab conflict are exhausted, military options don’t look very good, and there’s a feeling that maybe it’s better to try to resolve this conflict diplomatically. In the next four years, we could potentially end up with Israeli-Syrian and Israeli-Palestinian deals.
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