Region | Syria
Peace talks hinge on direct contact with Syria
As international leaders search for a negotiated end to the violence in Lebanon, there is little doubt that the go-to state is Syria, Hezbollah's powerful ally and perhaps the only Arab state capable of guaranteeing a lasting peace.
- By Kim Murphy and Tyler Marshall
- Published: 23:34 May 3, 2009
Damascus: As international leaders search for a negotiated end to the violence in Lebanon, there is little doubt that the go-to state is Syria, Hezbollah's powerful ally and perhaps the only Arab state capable of guaranteeing a lasting peace.
But who will go?
The Bush administration's policy of isolating the government of Bashar Al Assad has left Washington with no high-level contacts in Syria.
With no US ambassador in Damascus, a strong regimen of economic sanctions in place and a refusal to talk with Syrian leaders, Washington is negotiating the most serious Middle East crisis in years through Arab and European intermediaries whose influence is doubtful.
The policy has frustrated some US diplomats and prompted a growing chorus in Washington to call for direct contacts not only with Syria, but possibly with its ally, Iran the two biggest backers of anti-Israel groups in Lebanon and the Palestinian territories.
Without Bashar's intervention, no agreement to end Hezbollah rocket attacks or to safely place a new peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon is possible, say those who advocate opening new lines of communication.
By contrast, an order from Syria to halt weapons and other logistical shipments at the Lebanon border could strangle Hezbollah's military operations within weeks, military analysts say.
"Of course, Syria has the power to make Hezbollah stop fighting. Because while Hezbollah is to a certain degree independent, it needs a political umbrella, and Syria and Iran are that umbrella,'' said Redwan Ziadeh, a Damascus-based political analyst.
"In 1998 when Hezbollah was firing rockets into Israel, Clinton phoned Hafez Al Assad to stop Hezbollah, to stop the rockets. And Hezbollah stopped the rockets," he said.
In Washington, on Friday, Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska became the latest prominent foreign policy expert to call for contacts with Syria.
"America's approach to Syria and Iran is inextricably tied to Middle East peace," Hagel said in a speech to the Brookings Institution.
?"Whether or not they were directly involved in the latest Hezbollah and Hamas aggression in Israel, both countries exert influence in the region in ways that undermine stability and security.
"Both Damascus and Tehran must hear from America directly," he said.
Bush on Friday appeared to be avoiding any repeat of his earlier criticisms of Damascus. When asked what message he had for Syria and Iran, the president offered what may be an invitation to get involved.
Los Angeles Times-Washington Post News Service
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