Time for a Damascus Agreement

Over the past 40 years, various Arab politicians took up temporary residence in Damascus, fleeing chaos, mayhem and arrest in their respective countries. Many of them happen to be in top leadership posts in their countries today.

The list includes Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Hamas leader Khalid Mesha'al, Islamic Jihad chief Ramadan Shallah, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, Kurdistan President Masoud Barzani, Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and Druze leader Walid Junblatt.

Others spent time - either as full-time residents or temporary fugitives - in Iran. This list includes Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, Abdul Aziz Hakim of the Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council and former Iraqi prime minister Ebrahim Al Ja'afari.

Despite ups and downs in their relationships, all of the above-mentioned see Syria as a 'second home' and are open to opinions emanating from that country.

Syria is uniquely positioned to reach out and solve regional problems the way the Saudis and Qataris did with Lebanon in 1990 and 1998, and the way the Saudis and Egyptians have been doing with the Palestinians since 2004.

Palestinian talks since the Hamas seizure of Gaza in 2007 have repeatedly failed. If these talks were held in Syria, results could be achieved.

The Syrians have repeatedly said that they are willing to use their influence to bring about results in Palestinian dialogue. Although they play host to exiled Hamas leaders, the Syrians also have excellent relations with Mahmoud Abbas.

People tend to overlook this fact because relations were so bad with his predecessor, Yasser Arafat. Abbas - a graduate of Damascus University - is certainly closer to the Syrians than Hosni Mubarak ever was to the leadership of Hamas.

Back in 2006, Syria attempted to use its influence to get Hamas to accept a Cabinet of national unity in the Occupied Territories.

That initiative was spearheaded by Mousa Abu Marzouq from Damascus, and had Syria's fingerprints all over it. After the latest war on Gaza, Syria urged the leadership of Hamas to participate in talks in Cairo, although Mesha'al was furious at the Egyptian stance on Gaza.

Syria, after all, is viewed as the only country that is still committed to Arab nationalism. It is the only Arab country that has not signed a peace treaty with Israel. Its cold war with the Bush administration in 2003-2008 only endeared it to men like Nasrallah and Mesha'al.

Simply put, both Hamas and Hezbollah listen to Syria. The same applies in Iraqi politics. Iraqi Sunnis look to Syria for protection, while Iraqi Shiites do not forget that Syria is the prime ally of Iran, and did them plenty of favours during the Saddam era.

The same also applies to top Kurdish leaders, who had homes in Damascus - and Syrian passports - during the Saddam years. Al Maliki was thrilled, for example, when the Syrians sent an ambassador to Baghdad in 2008, thereby legitimising his leadership in the eyes of Iraqi Sunnis.

It's one thing when pro-US countries support a US-backed prime minister, but completely different when Syria does so.

Nobody is more aware of the role that Syria can play in settling regional problems than Barack Obama. It is not true that the US president wants to sabotage Syria's relationship with Hamas, Hezbollah or Iran.

On the contrary, he believes that he can reach out to all of these parties through Damascus. When the Syrians are treated with the respect that they deserve they can help to bring about peace.

After all, it was Syria that helped to secure the release of 15 British sailors taken captive by Iran in 2007. It took a decision by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to arrest the sailors, but the will of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to set them free. The Syrians are on excellent terms with Khamenei.

The US realises that it needs an Arab heavyweight to bring peace and tranquillity to the region. With all due respect, Qatar, Kuwait, Palestine and Lebanon do not qualify. Iraq is a heavyweight, but it is in pieces, thanks to George W. Bush. Libya is too far from the Middle East.

This leaves the US with three options: Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Syria. Fifty-four years ago, the leaders of all three countries met with Sir Winston Churchill, the Obama of the 1940s.

Churchill said, "We are building a new world, a better world, after this Great War is over. There will be no more room for conflict or strife. We need the cooperation of Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Syria to bring peace and tranquility to the Middle East. While I am assured of the policies of Their Majesties King Farouk and Ibn Saud, I am particularly seeking the cooperation of Syria, because no deal can be struck in this region without Damascus".

After summits in Ta'if, Makkah and Doha, it is now time for a Damascus Agreement on Iraq, Palestine and Lebanon.

Sami Moubayed is editor-in-chief of Forward Magazine in Syria.

"It is the only Arab country that has not signed a peace treaty with Israel."I do not think so. From what I know it is only Jordan and Egypt that have signed peace treaties with Israel, the other Arab countries have refrained from doing so.
Abdulelah Dandachi
Doha,Qatar
Posted: June 23, 2009, 09:45

Your comments are a poignant reminder of the significant role Syria plays in the Middle East and Gulf region. There will be no peace agreement until Damascas is brought into the negotiations and Barack Obama appears capable of steering the course of peace in that direction. Damascus will be the dominate player in any settlement.
David Stuckey
Dubai,UAE
Posted: June 23, 2009, 08:09