Syria's voice in Washington

Issam Fares helps Damascus shed its image despite spoiling tactics by the Israeli lobby

Since the Lebanese Civil War ended in 1990, scores of Lebanese politicians have been frequent visitors of Damascus. While most of them stood out as Syrian loyalists who worked to brandish Syria's image in Beirut, two were advocates of Syria in the Western world: Rafiq Al Hariri in Paris, and Issam Fares in Washington.

Hariri, harbouring a close friendship with the late Syrian President Hafez Al Assad, worked relentlessly during his first tenure in office to market Syria's cause abroad, and help garner international support, via France, for Assad's Syria. His role was crucial in garnering investment to Syria's devastated economy following the Soviet collapse in 1991.

Fares, on the other hand, is a close associate of Syria's military intelligence chief in Lebanon, General Ghazi Kanaan. Both he and Hariri have made numerous visits to Damascus in recent weeks with the aim of helping to boost the anti-terrorist image President Bashar Al Assad has tried giving since his assumption of power in July 2000.

More important than Harriri's trips, however, are those of Fares, a self-made billionaire who is considered a close and trusted friend of the Bush family. His role has been primarily that of a messenger and mediator, conveying Assad's sincere desire to help in the anti-terror campaign and lobbying successfully on Damascus's behalf for UN Security Council seat elections.

Issam Fares's connection to the Bush family was made evident following President George Bush's departure from office in 1992. He made a quick trip around the Gulf, visiting Kuwait, in Fares's private jet with the Lebanese businessman by his side. In October 1994, Fares paid the ex-President a substantial amount of money to give a speech at Tufts University – an academic institute to which he stands as a major benefactor.

In commencing his speech, Bush described Fares as an "exceptional man and worldwide benefactor" who "has been doing much for his homeland." Probably under Fares's instigation, Bush added that "Syria's role is important to American interests, in particular regarding the regional peace we are endeavoring to achieve."

Two years later, in October 1996, former Secretary of State James Baker, gave a similar speech at Tufts, saying that "had it not been for Syria's approval and the positive position adopted by President (Hafez) Assad, the peace process would not have been launched." In 1999, Fares paid Texas a visit where George and Barbara Bush hosted him.

When James Baker and former U.S. Ambassador to Syria Edward Djerjian visited Beirut that summer, they were hosted at Fares's private residence. On November 2, 2000 while campaigning for George Bush's presidency, Collin Powell, then a private citizen, gave a half-hour speech at Tufts that was reportedly financed by Fares.

The Jerusalem Post claimed that Fares had paid Powell $200,000 to praise Syria and Lebanon's peace initiatives. Adding spice to the event was a report issued by Bush's Presidential Inaugural Committee claiming that Fares had donated $100,000 to the Bush campaign. The committee also revealed a second $100,000 cheque from Nijad Fares, Issam's Houston-based son.

The businessman's involvement in the U.S. elections, and his apparent influence in electing Bush rather than the ostensibly pro-Israeli Al Gore, raised eyebrows in the Arab world, Washington, and Tel Aviv. Powell responded to accusations of being on the payroll of an Arab statesman saying: "I've given many, many such speeches, and there should be no concern in anyone's part that it influences me in any way."

Even then, speaking to CNN, Powell praised Fares's initiative, regretting the fact that the tabloids were insulting his name and saying: "It is really quite sad that this gentleman's name would be sullied in [newspaper] articles." Meanwhile, Fares responded to the event by saying that "the Zionist lobby in the U.S. and its agents in the region felt displeasure and concern that certain Lebanese and Arab personalities have a friendly relationship with some senior officials of the new American administration." He added that he was "happy with the noble relationship."

Back then, Larry Makinson, a senior fellow with the Center for Responsive Politics, said "This (Fares) is someone with a very clear political objective looking ahead at a new administration and trying to make a friendly gesture," adding that "it could affect America's foreign policy."

In addition to his ties with Bush, Fares also has strong ties to Spencer Abraham, the Energy Secretary in Bush's administration. Over the course of the last three election cycles, Fares's sons donated $17,000 to Abraham's electoral campaign and political action committee. Moreover, the American Task Force for Lebanon, a lobbying group of which he was president, donated $7,500 to Abraham. Issam Fares's ties to the Energy Department run even deeper.

His main U.S. business holding, a Houston-based company called the Wedge Group, is headed by William White, formerly the number two official at the Energy Department during the Clinton administration. Nijad Fares has made no secret of his intentions to use his wealth and connections, along with the reputation of his father, to influence U.S. policy toward Syria and Lebanon.

In a 1996 opinion piece, he wrote that "even modest contributions help ensure that Members of Congress and their staffs take phone calls and are more responsive to requests. Furthermore, the contributor must make explicit an interest in Middle East-related issues."

In addition to Issam Fares's connections in Washington, he also boasts of other ties in Moscow and London. A close friend of Britain's former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, Fares invited her to speak on 'Europe in the Middle East: The Future of Democracy.' She also spoke out in favour of Lebanon and Syria, and praised their reform methods in the post-Gulf War era.

Fares described her saying: "She speaks for the entire free world. No Western leader ventured into a major international commitment without consulting her." In September 1997, Fares paid a similar visit to Moscow, meeting with Alexis II, Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia.
More than any other time, Issam Fares can be of vital use today to both Damascus and Beirut.

Issam Fares' lobbying for Syria's favour, has also, added to Washington's new favourable attitude towards Damascus. Issam Fares and senior Syrian officials have repeatedly rebuffed the State Department's claim that Syria is a sponsor of international terrorism. "If to defend one's country and rights is considered terrorism, then so be it" said one senior officer in the Syrian Army.

Syria has served two previous terms on the Security Council. The first was orchestrated and chaired by Prime Minister Fares Al Khoury in the year 1947-1948 and it coincided with the Arab-Jewish War of 1948. The second, in 1970-71, fell in between the Six-Day War of 1967 and the 1973 October War.


Sami Moubayed is a Syrian political analyst. He is the author of two books 'The Politics of Damascus 1920-1946' and Damascus Between Democracy and Dictatorship'.