Why, all of a sudden, has this Bush administration decided to lift the veil of secrecy regarding Syria’s role as another epicenter of terror? It’s been long in coming and Bush is to be congratulated for exposing Syria’s role in building an advanced chemical missile system that is a major WMD (weapon of mass destruction).
But the veil has only been partially lifted, so let’s take a look at some of the other components and connect the dots.
Under President Hafez al Assad, Syria built its chemical and missile capability for over 30 years – with no objection from the U.N., E.U. or U.S. – until now. Israeli Intelligence had long ago penetrated Syria’s manufacturing capabilities in producing chemicals which kill as well as its collaboration with North Korea, China and Russia to extend the range of chemically loaded missiles.
All of this information was repeatedly reported to America’s CIA, State Department and numerous presidents. This intelligence was disregarded by all the above.
Syria’s accumulation of WMD was well known by world intel agencies, particularly those of France, Germany and England, in addition to Russia, China and North Korea, who also acted as Syria’s suppliers of materiél, technology and scientists, etc. Syria’s weapon-building program was well known, so why now the ‘miraculous’ discovery of Syria’s deadly capability?
The old adage of "It depends upon whose ox is being gored" seems applicable.
Let us continue to connect those elusive dots:
It would appear that Syria came into focus when it began accepting Saddam’s weapons for safekeeping and later offered refuge to Saddam’s escaping Ba’athist cohorts.
Syria’s choice of being a haven for war criminals and terrorists is similarly well known. Even as far back as the end of WWII, escaping high-level Nazi war criminals found Syria an excellent safe haven.
Some may recall Alois Bruner, the Nazi war criminal responsible for the deaths of many Jews, who was well received in Syria and may very well still be alive and living there safely.
Arch-terrorist Abu Nidal was similarly welcomed, although later expelled to Baghdad as a P.R. bone thrown to the White House.
Syria was and is the host to at least 10 major terrorist organizations, such as Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad, Hamas and Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, among many others. There they not only could operate safely but also received money, training, weapons and shared intelligence between Syria’s secret services and Iran.
Because of the solid bases offered by Hafez al Assad, these terrorist organizations could and did outreach to Europe, America and, of course, Israel. Terrorists are far more effective when they have stable bases from which to operate. Keep that thought as President Bush offers the PLO a whole state of its own to operate from.
Syria could task these hydra-headed terror organizations with missions against Israel and Americans as a reciprocal payback for services mutually rendered. Syria was identified as having been the source of the 1983 truck bomb massacre against the American Marine barracks in Lebanon, which killed 241 Marines.
The order to retaliate was given by then-President Ronald Reagan but was rescinded by then-Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger – "for political reasons." Syria had deep connections within the U.S. State Department and in Washington generally. We may never know the reasons unless we take over the Syrian intelligence headquarters as we did in Iraq.
James Baker, III, secretary of state under former President Bush, also visited Assad in Syria repeatedly, trying to bring Assad into line with America’s plans and policies – to no avail.
It was reported that Baker shared sensitive intelligence given to him by Israel from her own agents under deep cover in Syria. It was said that he was trying to improve his credibility with Assad. This allowed Assad to roll up Israel’s Humint (human intelligence) network, and those agents of Israel were backtracked and killed.
Of course, Baker denied that he had exposed the Israeli cell. Some may recall Baker’s attitude about Jews when he was reported to have said "F**k the Jews; they don’t vote for us anyhow."
During Bill Clinton’s term in office, an effort was made to broker a peace favorable to Syria in a rather peculiar way. Israel was to withdraw from her excellent military position on the high ground of the Golan Heights, recovered from Syria after years of Syria’s forces shelling the Jews on the plain beneath the Heights.
Israel was to receive offsetting dollars and special equipment to compensate for her loss of direct electronic surveillance into Damascus – a military position which has prevented Syria from attacking Israel since 1973.
Israel was to degrade her security, based on promises, much the same as is being offered in the so-called "Road Map" of today. Syria couldn’t start up a tank engine without Israel instantly knowing. The Clinton deal would then take Syria off the U.S. State Department’s list of terrorist nations.
Some may recall the 27 official visits to Assad by Clinton’s secretary of state, Warren Christopher, pleading with Syria to lower her profile on supporting terrorism so she could be taken off of the list of State Sponsors of Terrorism and initiate the process of receiving military and other aid.
This would then allow American "defense" industries to sell, or rather "gift," Syria with $20 billion to $40 billion in tanks, aircraft, missiles and electronics – all paid for by U.S. taxpayers.
The transfer of ‘free’ military equipment was a well-developed scheme of political diplomacy, refined through Egypt, which has received at least $2 billion annually since 1979.
American tax dollars were defined as "grants" so the money went directly from the American treasury to the American manufacturers. These were not ‘sales’ requiring congressional oversight because Egypt never had to pay for what by now may amount to at least $48 billion of American taxpayers’ money.
The clever idea was to buy Egypt’s loyalty and create a country that would protect American interests in the region. That investment of $48 billion plus, however, seems NOT to have bound Egypt to America’s wishes.
Syria was slated to receive the same ‘free’ package, courtesy of the American taxpayers. This is a dirty political trick that numerous presidential administrations have used, making U.S. citizens suckers. In any case, the deal at that time didn’t go through because Assad could not bring himself to make any deal with the Israelis.
But – and it’s a big BUT – that deal may be resurrected, with U.S. defense industries lobbying for another sweetheart deal for both Syria and Iraq.
On approximately March 25
The game plan is to bypass congressional oversight plus provide lobbying defense industries with a windfall opportunity to sell weapons to Iraq, no doubt under a grant, so the American taxpayers would again subsidize these sales.
As the Shi’ites of Iraq rise up with prodding from the Shi’ites of Iran, I wonder if the president still wishes to sell arms to a new Iraq under Shi’ite influence.
I have an uncomfortable feeling that the present P.R. attack against Syria is a two-edged sword. One ‘edge’ is realistic pressure by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and the president to halt Syria’s assistance to Iraq’s Ba’ath Party (Saddam’s political power base) by current Syrian President Bashar Assad. Ba’ath Party officials have been receiving sanctuary in Syria.
The other ‘edge’ is that, after Assad makes certain efforts to placate the Bush administration, there will be a push to take Syria off the U.S. State Department’s list of terrorist nations, opening up the doors for massive sales of armaments to Syria, all under the sweetheart deal enjoyed by Egypt for the past 24 years.
To accomplish this feat of magic, the Bush administration must return to the plan to force Israel off the Golan Heights, followed by the pretense that the president of Syria is seeking peace and, thus, can be taken off the list of terrorist-sponsoring nations.
Presumably, this will be an extension of the Bush-Powell "Road (Rogue) Map" plan.
In the end, it will be Israel that will pay an extraordinarily heavy price, having been forced into accepting another Arab Palestinian terror state in her heartland and being pushed off the Golan in the North, with hostile Syrian-Iraqi-Iranian troops poised over her head – plus a few al-Qaeda terrorists who already have sanctuary in Syria and Iraq.
Naturally, Israel will receive the usual promises by the co-signers – none of which will be kept. This is only a partial glimpse into what’s going on behind the scenes for Israel’s future.
Emanuel Winston is a Middle East analyst and commentator. He may be reached by e-mail at
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