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September 13, 2005
Good News On Syria And Iraq
Captain Ed notes that the Bush administration has sharpened its stance on Syria's continued practice of allowing jihadists to cross into Iraq from Syria. Ed cites a New York Times story that reports that US envoy to Iraq Zalmay Khalizad spoke to reporters in Washington and made it clear that the US believes that not only is Syria providing assistance to jihadists operating in Iraq, but also that the assistance is increasing.
Syrian authorities "allow youngsters misguided by Al Qaeda - from Saudi Arabia, from Yemen, from North Africa - to fly into Damascus International Airport," attend training camps and then cross into Iraq, he contended. ...
"Our patience is running out," said the ambassador, Zalmay Khalilzad
It's about time our patience ran out. More importantly, it looks like the Iraqis themselves might be losing patience. Ed:
The only reason for Assad to stop the insurgent flow into Iraq is the credible threat of American action. However, as the Americans build the Iraqi security forces into a credible army, the Syrians may soon find themselves at the mercy of an Iraqi effort to push back against Assad. He can expect that Kurdish elements would enthusiastically take to that mission, and that the ethnic Kurds in Syria would probably welcome them.
If the Americans want to get serious with Assad, they need to pick a clear target along this line of communication feeding the Zarqawi network -- something whose loss will hurt Assad's regime -- and take it out. Make it clear that we will follow the Bush Doctrine.
Emphases mine.
GWB is, of course, serving his last term. When he was reelected I had the fervent hope that he would feel himself free to make these kind of bold moves, but I have a bad feeling that Katrina has dealt a severe blow to the legacy of his second term. I hope GWB doesn't allow himself to be swayed by events such as Katrina or the 2006 elections.
A much-reduced influx of jihadists from Syria into Iraq would do wonders for Iraqi prospects--and a responsible, freely-elected government in Iraq would be the best legacy Bush could wish for.
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Comments
Hi Jeff: Bush is in his last term but he's got 3+ years to go and something tells me that he and his team are just rolling up their sleeves. In the long term, do you really think Katrina is going to change people's alliegances--58% now rate his response as "good," which is more than the percentage that voted for him in the last election. So I think this when this shakes out over the next month, we will see pretty much the same political climate, and pretty much the same President. Don't let the nay-sayers like EJ "The Bush Era is Over" Dionne get you down.
Posted by: AcademicElephant at September 14, 2005 06:32 AM
Good point about the 3+ years. I think somewhere in this blog I referred to the "human wave" tactics of the MSM. Brutal and unsophisticated, easily defeatable individually--but the relentless swarm can wear you down.
Posted by: Jeff at September 14, 2005 11:32 AM
Check out the most recent poll numbers at ankle-biting-pundits--they tell a somewhat different story from what the swarm has been spreading. At this point, Bush may well feel emboldened rather than defeated--he certainly didn't look like he was finished at the UN today.
Posted by: AcademicElephant at September 14, 2005 04:43 PM
