Told you so.... (message #1741)
csmonitor.com
Excerpt:
"Syria, very much like Turkey, is comfortable with the status quo," says Jouejati. "It is comfortable that Saddam Hussein is strong enough to keep Iraq united, but weak enough not to threaten his neighbors. Damascus would not like to see the regime toppled and substituted by a pro-American regime because in that case Damascus would be totally surrounded by American power."
Syria believes that with Hussein gone and a pro-US regime installed in Baghdad, Washington would be tempted to continue the process of regime change in the Arab world.
Juan Cole, professor of history at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, says that the strong bonds between some administration officials and right-wing Israelis are creating the atmosphere for a broader agenda beyond simply deposing Mr. Hussein.
"I do not believe that the Bush administration wishes to invade Iraq primarily because it is afraid of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction capabilities," Professor Cole says. "That seems to me a smokescreen for the real ambition, which is to begin reshaping the political culture of the Middle East in ways that might favor the US and forestall increasing moves to radicalism, as in Al Qaeda."
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad recently called for "deeper unity and solidarity among Arab and Muslim countries in the face of American threats against the region."
Syrian officials have stepped up diplomatic contacts with key Arab states, such as Saudi Arabia and Egypt, as well as non-Arab Iran, an ally of Damascus and one of President Bush's three "axis of evil" countries.
[...]
____________________________ |
