Clinton, speaking at a news conference before the opening of a NATO foreign ministers meeting in this Baltic capital, said the administration has concluded that the benefits of sending a US ambassador to Damascus — after a five-year absence — outweigh the costs. via jpost.com By ASSOCIATED PRESS 22/04/2010 17:10 For nearly two years, Syria has refused to cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency’s investigation of a suspected nuclear reactor that was destroyed by Israel in September 2007. Now the IAEA may request a rare “special inspection” of Syrian sites, making the country’s nuclear defiance the international community’s main point of contention with Damascus -- eclipsing even the investigation into Syrian officials’ involvement in the assassination of former Lebanese Premier Rafik Hariri.via foreignaffairs.com
Does anyone seriously think that the US--or the West in general--will be any more effective in stopping Syria's nuclear program than they have been in controlling Iran's? Syria has been playing the West longer than Iran has, and the very fact that the US is considering sending an ambassador to the country that assassinated Hariri and recently provided Scuds to Hizbollah, shows that Syria is still at the top of its game.via daledamos.blogspot.com
the Obama Administration sees a potential friend?
The Obama administration is still committed to improving relations with Syria despite its "deeply troubling" moves to aid Hizbullah in neighboring Lebanon, US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Thursday.
Lee Smith, author of The Strong Horse: Power, Politics, and the Clash of Arab Civilizationswrites in an article for Tablet that Syria
occupies a unique position in U.S. policymaking circles: Syria kills Americans and our allies, but its strategic significance pales in comparison to China, Russia, and Iran, which makes it a second- or even third-tier issue.
