U.S. to attend meeting that includes Iran & Syria

"American officials said Tuesday that they had agreed to hold the highest-level contact with the Iranian authorities in more than two years as part of an international meeting on Iraq.
The discussions, scheduled for the next two months, are expected to include Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and her Iranian and Syrian counterparts.
. . . Iraqi officials had been pushing for such a meeting for several months, but Bush administration officials refused until the Iraqi government reached agreement on pressing domestic matters, including guidelines for nationwide distribution of oil revenue and foreign investment in the country’s immense oil industry, administration officials said.
. . . [The talks] will include Britain, Russia, and a host of international organizations and Middle Eastern countries."

source
Cooper, Helene & Semple, Kirk. (The New York Times). U.S. Set to Join Iran and Syria in Talks on Iraq. February 28, 2007.

posted: thursday, march 1, 2007, 11:19 AM ET

tags: condoleezza rice iraq iran syria

Syria stops taking refugees from Iraq

"Syria, the last Arab country welcoming large numbers of Iraqi refugees, is now all but closing the gates and leaving 40,000 Iraqis who flee their country each month with almost no place to go.
The new rules _ imposed without any official announcement _ also strike fear of deportation into the 1 million Iraqis already here. The worsening humanitarian crisis has resulted in calls for action by members of the U.S. Congress and a plea from the United Nations for more countries to help out.
'It's not fair that the burden is not being shared effectively. A very limited number of countries is paying a very heavy price,' Antonio Guterres, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, said on a recent tour of the Mideast."

source
Mroue, Bassem. (The Associated Press). Syria Bars Iraq Refugees, Crisis Worsens. February 12, 2007.

posted: tuesday, february 13, 2007, 7:17 PM ET

tags: iraq refugee syria

Gemayel conspiracy theories

Gemayel's allies

"In the Shiite southern suburbs, Hezbollah's stronghold, shops stayed open Thursday despite a three-day period of mourning announced after Gemayel's death. As the funeral began, many watched scenes a few miles away unfold on television. Suspicion ran deep that Gemayel's allies, not Syria, were behind the killing, given the way his death has bolstered Hezbollah's opponents and put the organization on the defensive, forcing it to delay its own protests many had expected to begin this week." [1]

"The simmering struggle flared this month when Hezbollah and its Christian ally, Michel Aoun, demanded greater representation in the cabinet. Four rounds of talks failed, and two Hezbollah ministers, three other Shiites and an allied politician resigned on Nov. 11, depriving the cabinet of its Shiite representation and the symbolic sectarian consensus on which Lebanese politics depends.
Two days later, the depleted cabinet endorsed a U.N. proposal for an international tribunal to try suspects in Hariri's death, a step Syria has adamantly resisted. This weekend, in another escalation, Hezbollah leader Hasan Nasrallah insisted that the government resign or hold early parliamentary elections. Otherwise, he said, his followers would conduct days, even weeks of protests to bring the government down." [2]

syria

"U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan has diligently and courageously pursued another course in dealing with Syria's systematic use of violence to regain control over Lebanon and the fortunes in smuggling drugs and arms that Syrian politicians and generals generate from their neighbor.
Citing the conditions created by the assassination of Rafiq al-Hariri, Lebanon's former prime minister, in February 2005 as a threat to international peace, Annan creatively pushed for an international criminal investigation and an international tribunal to try the case. Syrian officials are prime suspects in that crime and are widely believed to be behind the assassinations of at least four other advocates of Lebanese independence that followed Hariri's murder.
The killing of Gemayel, a member of the anti-Syrian coalition headed by Prime Minister Fuad Siniora, bears the hallmarks of a Syrian "initiative" to block the U.N. effort. And the murder came as Syria was reestablishing diplomatic relations with Iraq after 24 years of estrangement. This translation of Syrian actions quickly made its way through the Middle East: "You want help in Iraq? It will cost you Lebanon. For starters." That is realpolitik and real communication, Assad-style." [3]

sources
[1] The Washington Post. At Lebanese Funeral, a Show of Force Against Syria: Gemayel's Assassination Highlights Escalating Conflict Over Country's Direction. November 24, 2006.
[2] The Washington Post. Fears of Civil Strife Rise in Lebanon: Christian Cabinet Member Pierre Gemayel, Killed by Gunmen, Was Critic of Syria. November 22, 2006.
[3] The Washington Post. Realism, and Values, in Lebanon. November 26, 2006.

posted: friday, november 24, 2006, 9:53 PM ET
update: wednesday, november 29, 2006, 3:49 PM ET

Gemayel assassination partly due to U.S. policy, some say

"The bullets that raked [Lebanon cabinet minister Pierre] Gemayel's car also fired on U.S. policy, analysts say.
'The bullets were meant for an outspoken critic of Syria. The Cedar Revolution is seen as an extension of American power, so the assassination of Gemayel was by extension a way of striking the U.S. as well,' said Augustus Richard Norton, a former U.N. peacekeeper in Lebanon and now a professor at Boston University.
Added Lebanese columnist Rami Khouri, currently on a speaking tour in the United States: 'This is the new Cold War.'
U.N. Ambassador John R. Bolton said Gemayel's assassination brought new attention to the danger that Syria and Iran are attempting, through Lebanese allies such as Hezbollah, to conduct a coup d'etat against the pro-Western government led by Prime Minister Fouad Siniora."

source
The Washington Post. Assassination Increases Tensions With Syria, Iran. November 22, 2006.

posted: friday, november 24, 2006, 9:25 PM ET

See how competent Iraqis are . . . in Syria

"Tens of thousands of Iraqis seeking to escape the violence that has consumed their country have fled into Syria, creating their own schools, neighborhoods and communities there." [1]

And hopefully, most of the competent Iraqis haven't left Iraq already. *

footnote
* Iraq and Syria have also restored diplomatic ties. Who needs America?

source
The New York Times. Syria and Iraq Restore Ties Severed in the Hussein Era. November 21, 2006.

posted: thursday, november 23, 2006, 3:16 PM ET
update: thursday, november 23, 2006, 3:27 PM ET

More American dialogue with Iran and Syria may be coming

"The Democratic takeover of Congress will raise the profile of lawmakers who have repeatedly urged the Bush administration to talk to key adversaries such as Iran, North Korea and Syria, increasing pressure on the White House to stop placing restrictions or conditions on such discussions.
. . . Iran and Syria are problematic neighbors of Iraq, and critics have charged that not talking to Damascus and Tehran has hurt efforts to end the violence in Iraq.
. . . Since Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice took office nearly two years ago, some restrictions on dealing with Iran and North Korea have been loosened.
. . . Outgoing Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld is a fierce foe of engaging with enemies, but [Robert] Gates two years ago co-wrote a Council on Foreign Relations report that called for a "direct dialogue" with Iran."

source
The Washington Post. Democrats May Urge More Contact With U.S. Adversaries. November 10, 2006.

posted: saturday, november 11, 2006, 3:25 PM ET
update: saturday, november 11, 2006, 3:27 PM ET