In his January 20 inauguration speech and in subsequent statements, US President Barack Obama has called for establishing new relations with the Muslim world based on common interests and mutual respect. He has also advocated the settlement of the Arab-Israel conflict, notably the Israeli-Palestinian dispute, as well as the combating of terrorism. Although he has not referred specifically to Syria, there is no doubt that Obama recognizes Damascus significant role in all these crucial issues. Unlike his predecessor, President George W. Bush, who excommunicated Syria s President Bashar Assad, Obama wishes to engage him.
A major concern of Obama s is nuclear Iran, its critical role in Iraq and Afghanistan, its strategic military alliance with Syria, its strong ideological links with the Lebanese Shia Hezbollah and its backing of the Palestinian Sunni Hamas and Islamic Jihad. Washington intends to engage Tehran in an attempt to reach agreement on these critical issues, wherein Damascus role would be rather secondary. But since the prospects of an American-Iranian deal are slim, Washington should pursue an more promising alternative policy of engaging Damascus in a new, bold and visionary strategy for the Middle East.
This new strategy would have three main objectives, indeed challenges.
First, to diminish if not eliminate Syria s strategic alliance with Shia Iran and persuade it to join the pragmatic Sunni-Arab camp of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and the Gulf states (possibly also the non-Arab Sunni Turkey).
Second, this approach would be linked to a comprehensive Arab-Israel peace agreement that would include Syria, Lebanon and the Palestinians and be based on the Arab League s peace initiative of 2002. And third, in exchange for return of the Golan Heights to Syria and the Shebaa Farms to Lebanon and the establishment of a Palestinian state, Syria would undertake to conclude a peace agreement with Israel that entails the demilitarization of the Golan with US supervision. It would also cease militarily supporting Hezbollah and Hamas and induce them to back the Lebanese-Israeli and Palestinian-Israeli peace agreements.
There are clear indications that the new Obama administration has started a dialogue with Syria for, in the words of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on March 3, possible cooperation and engagement . Senior State Department officials met for the first time in many years with Syrian Ambassador Imad Mustapha. Several US officials visited Damascus for bilateral talks, including Senator John Kerry, Jeffrey Feltman of the State Department s Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs and Daniel Shapiro, a senior official of the National Security Council.
For its part, Syria is positive about the new Obama administration and in 2002 joined all Arab states in approving the Arab League peace initiative.
From 2007 until recently, Syria conducted indirect talks with Israel through Turkish mediation. And Damascus recently improved relations with Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
Damascus, however, still refuses to cut its strategic relations with Tehran and Hezbollah , cease its backing of Hamas or abandon its new nuclear program. Regarding peace with Israel, Syria rejects any territorial concession on the Golan and predicates normalization with Jerusalem on settlement of the Palestinian problem. Finally and significantly, Damascus insists on maintaining its strategic interests in Lebanon, even at the expense of Lebanon s sovereignty. Syria has also objected to the creation of the international tribunal that is investigating the assassination in 2005 of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri, allegedly by Syrian agents.
To be sure, these tough Syrian positions pose crucial obstacles, indeed challenges, to Obama s endeavor to reach a strategic alignment with Assad.
Washington could offer several incentives to Damascus: generous financial help, removal of Syria from the US list of countries supporting terrorism and repeal of sanctions under the Syria Accountability and Lebanese Sovereignty Act (2003). But Syria will still insist on two major conditions for joining the American-led alignment: reclaiming the entire Golan Heights and retaining, if not expanding, its strategic involvement in Lebanon.
Moshe Maoz is professor emeritus of Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. This commentary is published by DAILY NEWS EGYPT in collaboration with bitterlemons-international.org.
