What Assad’s recent comments to Seymour Hersh in the New Yorker tell us

Hussain Abdul-Hussain

Those who favor unconditional engagement with Syria, believing the ruling regime will in exchange distance itself from Iran, Hezbollah and Hamas, should consider the parallel drawn by the Syrian Vice-President, Farouk al-Shara, in Seymour Hersh’s New Yorker article this week. When “asked whether Syria’s relationship with Iran would change if the Golan Heights issue was resolved, he said, ‘Do you think a man only goes to bed with a woman he deeply loves?’…‘That’s my answer to your question about Iran.’”

So, according to the Syrian second-in-command, even if the Golan Heights are returned and ties with Washington reestablished, Syria will still remain in bed with everybody, Iran, Hezbollah, Hamas, Israel, America and anyone else the regime finds it advantageous to sleep with.

As Hersh sees it, “Assad’s goal in seeking to engage with America and Israel is clearly more far-reaching than merely to regain the Golan Heights. His ultimate aim appears to be to persuade [President Barak] Obama to abandon the [former President George] Bush Administration’s strategy of aligning America with the so-called “moderate” Arab Sunni states—Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan—in a coordinated front against Shiite Iran, Shiite Hezbollah, and Hamas.”

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The Arabic version on Assad and Seymour Hersh in Al Rai

SOUNDBITE - HANA: Former Administration Believed Assad Involved in Hariri Murder

WASHINGTON - HUDSON INSTITUTE: John Hanna, Former National Security Advisor for Vice President Dick Cheney, said the former administration believed Syria to be involved in the murder of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

The former official said had the tribunal been created on time, there would have been chances that the Syrian regime would collapse if indicted. But unfortunately, according to Hannah, the tribunal’s establishment took long, which gave the Syrian regime ample time to adjust and prepare. Hanna said the Syrian regime today is in a better position to deal with or fend off any possible indictment from the Special Tribunal on Lebanon.

Hannah said he has no information about the tribunal’s work, but argued that there still a danger that it could “be swept under the carpet.” Hanna added that nothing at the moment suggests that the tribunal will be muted or compromised.

Congress Praises AUB

WASHINGTON - CAPITOL HILL: The exchange below is from a hearing of the House Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia entitled an "update on Lebanon." The conversation involves Congressman Russ Carnahan (D-MO), Congressman Darryl Issa (R-CA), and Acting Assistant Secretary for Near East Affairs Jeffrey Feltman.

REP. CARNAHAN: If I could, I'll cut you off --

MR. FELTMAN: Yeah.

REP. CARNAHAN: -- because I want -- one more institution I want to ask about, and that is the American University in Beirut, in terms of opportunities there to use that institution going forward, in terms of better preparing them for success.
MR. FELTMAN: I've -- I have tremendous respect for the American University of Beirut.

It's -- you know, it's one of the outstanding institutions of education in the Middle East, and it's something I think that we can all be proud of from the -- from, you know -- a legacy of American benevolence in the -- from the 19th century.
I had the opportunity last night, in fact, to meet the new president -- new for me; he's been in office a few months -- the new president of American University of Beirut.

And the U.S. Congress has been extremely generous in supporting the American University of Beirut over the years, and I expect that support will continue. But we work with the American University of Beirut in a variety of ways.
But the -- but we also have to keep a little bit of a hands-off role from the -- from AUB, because it is a private institution. It's not a -- it's not part of the U.S. government. So we support AUB while also letting AUB thrive as an independent academic institution.

REP. CARNAHAN: Thank you.

REP. ACKERMAN: Mr. Issa.

REP. ISSA: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Ambassador, a lot of subjects to go through, and I'll try to be quick and brief. But let me start in reverse order, with AUB.

Historically, AUB has had a -- total support in the words of the United States, both at the administration level and at Congress's level. But they've often had to be earmarked, a word that has become a little distasteful. Do you expect the -- this administration to provide funding without separate earmarks from the Congress for AUB?

MR. FELTMAN: I would expect that our -- you know, that we would have consistent support for AU -- for AUB.
It's in our interest to see that institution thrive.

REP. ISSA: I appreciate that. I'm glad to hear it.

International Justice to Prevail over Defiant Regimes of Sudan and Syria

Smock: “It is unfortunate that this morning Qatar issued an invitation to Sudanese President Omar El-Bashir, wanted by the International Criminal Court, to attend the Arab League Summit to be held in Doha.” – MENW

WASHINGTON: MENW -- Experts in a debate at the US Institute for Peace, yesterday, said that the future of international justice and the International Criminal Court (ICC) are at stake, and depend on ICC's success in Sudan.

The ICC issued a warrant for the arrest Sudanese President Omar El-Bashir, less than two weeks ago, on charges of crimes against humanity. The Sudanese sovereign said, in defiance, that the tribunal “was under his shoe,” echoing similar Arab opposition to justice in the region.

Syrian President Bashar Assad threatened, last week, that “politicizing” the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, a codeword Assad uses to signify his opposition to the tribunal summoning of any Syrian, would “backfire” on Lebanon.

The USIP event saw the participation of Prosecutor on the Sierra Leone Tribunal, David Crane, former US diplomat to the Balkans James O’Brien, former Deputy Prosecutor on the Yugoslavia Tribunal David Tolbert, and expert on African Affairs David Smock.

Also in attendance were Sudanese diplomats in Washington, who defended their regime, and members form the Sudanese opposition.

Smock said: “It is unfortunate that this morning Qatar issued an invitation to Sudanese President Omar El-Bashir, wanted by the International Criminal Court, to attend the Arab League Summit to be held in Doha.”

For his part, Tolbert argued that regimes like Sudan and Syria cannot stand defiant in the face of international justice, saying prosecutors were empowered by the support of the Security Council and Chapter VII, and could instruct the council to impose sanctions on defiant states, such as Syria and Sudan.

Tolbert said, however, that there has been no precedents of sanctions, and that almost all cases before international justice came to a conclusion and perpetrators were punished.

SOUNDBITE - Kerry: No illusions Syria will end ties to Iran

Senator John Kerry (D-MA) said the Middle East has a rare chance for regional peace that it should grasp.

Speaking at the Brookings Institute, earlier today, in the presence of Syrian Ambassador to the US Imad Mustafa and the absence of any Lebanese diplomatic representation, the chair of the Committee on Foreign Relations said Arabs and Israel fear nuclear Iran, and therefore are ready to make peace.

Kerry, who recently returned from a regional tour that included Syria, said: “I commend the Administration for initiating dialogue with Damascus. We should have no illusions that Syria will immediately end its ties to Iran, but that shouldn’t threaten us as long as their relationship ceases to destabilize the region.”

He added: “Remember, when the war broke out in Gaza, the Syrians were talking indirectly to the Israelis through Turkey. This was done over the objections of Iran. Syrian President Bashar al Assad told me recently in Damascus that he is prepared to resume peace negotiations with Israel and embrace the Arab Peace Initiative once again.”

Kerry also said: “Syria would like direct American participation in these peace talks, and we should play that role if our presence can move the process forward.”
He added: “How do we begin? By building upon the Arab Peace Initiative.”
Kerry concluded: “This bold step never received the focus it deserved when Saudi King Abdullah proposed it in 2002. We cannot underestimate the importance that, through this initiative, every Arab country has now agreed to the basic formulation of land for peace, recognition of the state of Israel, and normalization of relations.”

Kerry’s prepared remarks at the Brookings Institute