Bruce Feiler - Where God Was Born, Abraham, Walking The Bible

Why Israel Wants Pelosi in Syria
Thursday, April 5, 2007

Josh Marshall moves beyond the faux brouhaha over the White House criticism of Pelosi's trip to Syria (after all, Republicans are there now, the Baker-Hamilton Commission went to Syria, including now SecDef Gates) to point out that the Israelis actually sent a message via Pelosi to the Syrian leadership.

The Israelis use of Pelosi as a go-between between them and the Syrians tells not only the specific but the larger tale. Isn't this what the US -- or whatever country has the pretense of being the great power in the region -- is supposed to do?

Here's what the message was about. As often seems to happen between these countries, the Israelis had been picking up hints that the Syrians thought the Israelis were going to attack this summer. And the Israelis worried that the Syrians would preemptively attack on the Golan Heights to get a jump on the Israelis. But the Israelis say that they're not planning anything like that. So they asked Pelosi to convey this message to Damascus -- to prevent a possible chain of misunderstandings leading to war.

This seems of a piece with February's news that the Bush administration was insisting that the Israelis not pursue exploratory talks with the Syrians about a potential peace deal.

Pelosi's trip is an embarrassment for the president because it shows an American actually involving herself in realities on the world stage rather than stuck in denial and fantasy. That may sound a bit starry-eyed. But think about it and I'll think you'll see that that's a lot of what this is about.

Update, from the AP: Three Republican congressmen who parted with President Bush by meeting with Syrian leaders said Wednesday it is important to maintain a dialogue with a country the White House says sponsors terrorism.

"I don't care what the administration says on this. You've got to do what you think is in the best interest of your country," said Rep. Frank Wolf, R-Va. "I want us to be successful in Iraq. I want us to clamp down on Hezbollah."

Labels: Middle East

Posted by B Feiler at 8:11 AM
Permalink Digg this Post Email this Post

0 Comments: