Nov
19
Britain-Syria Resume Intelligence Sharing
Filed Under Britain, European Foreign Policy, Lebanon, Peace Deals, Syria
On a visit to Damascus this week, the first trip made by a top British diplomat since 2001, British Foreign Secretary David Miliband managed to re-establish high level intelligence sharing between his government and the Syrians. With this renewed measure of cooperation, the Europeans (following Sarkozy’s visit in September) look set to usher Syria back into the international arena and may force the incoming Obama administration to play its hand on Syria early in its tenure. The diplomatic isolation is beginning to thaw, and Joshua Landis suggests that renewed intelligence sharing will eventually force the United States into the fold, at the very least communicating with the Syrians indirectly:
The announcement that Miliband has re-established high level intelligence sharing with Syria is also significant. Secretary Rice and Foreign Minister Mu`allim discussed restarting intelligence sharing in May 2007 at Sharm al-Sheikh, but Syria asked the US to return an ambassador to Damascus as a sign of Syria’s cooperation. The US refused this gesture, forcing the US military “to take matters in their own hands.” Ultimately, the politicians in Washington forced the Defense department to settle the border issue militarily - hence the raid last month that killed eight Syrians. (We still have no proof that the Americans killed or captured the “facilitator” Abu Ghadiyya, whom they claim they snagged n the raid. I find it a bit odd that they have not shown us a photo of the man as they did with Saddam or his sons. Why all the secrecy about a raid they claimed as a stunning success and a person they have told us so much about?)
At any rate, the Syrians clearly offered the British the same offer they made to the Americans well over a year ago. The difference is that the British have been smart enough to take the offer, sending their foreign minister to Damascus as a gesture of good will and cooperation. So the British will now supply the US with Syrian intelligence. This will be awkward for the Americans; they will be dependent on the British for intelligence. Of course, if the Americans like the bits of intelligence they get from the Syrians, they will have to ask for more and will have to ask the Syrians to act on the intelligence or to deliver certain fighters. In this way, one can only presume that the Americans will start to negotiate with the Syrians indirectly. Just as the Syrians talk to the Israelis through the Turks, the US will talk to the Syrians through the British. The silliness of this will strengthen the Defense Department’s hand in insisting that Washington politicians do the right thing and grow up. It is just plain silly. Syria wants to help the US kill al-Qaida types, but the US refuses to say yes. How goofey is that? If Obama doesn’t send someone of stature to Damascus to fix this, I will eat my hat.
What do these diplomatic overtures signal for Lebanon, a country whose political instability over the past decade can largely be attributed to Syrian interference into Lebanese affairs? Whenever French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner visits the Levant, he ties the importance of Syrian-Lebanese relations to Syria’s relations with the West. Miliband is in Lebanon now, and after a meeting with the leader of the Future Movement Saad Hariri had this to say about Lebanese stability:
Miliband said that Lebanon’s stability was an indicator of that in the region. “We appreciate the important steps that were taken and that are still underway to realize stability and strengthen the state in Lebanon,” he told reporters. It was crucial, he added, that the international community send a strong message prior to the 2009 parliamentary elections. Miliband noted that his country supported Lebanon by coordinating with the United Nations and giving financing to the International Tribunal and investigation into the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri
The British minister said that the work toward the establishment of Lebanese-Syrian diplomatic ties was important and that he hoped it would be accomplished by the end of 2009. He also said that good neighbors must work together and maintain mutual respect.
His approach over the past three months, Miliband said, toward the peace process in the Middle East included addressing the issue of the Shebaa Farms, on which he said the incoming US administration was also determined to reach a settlement.
Miliband also promised to raise the issue of Syrian support for Hezballah during his trip to Damascus, but the British Foreign Secretary would be wise to remember Damascus’ other transgressions against Lebanese soveriegnty. As an editorial in NOW Lebanon points out, both the Hariri assisination as well as decades of political interference paint skepticism on the faces of many Lebanese who worry that Syria’s latest maneuver toward the West may come at the expense of its political independence:
Syrian rhetoric on combating extremism may have reassuring resonance in London, but it rings rather hollow in Lebanon, where many Lebanese see Damascus as the arch deliverer of mayhem and murder. The Lebanese can read between the lines and were not surprised when Assad’s warnings of a growing terrorist threat in Tripoli in September were immediately followed by the deployment of thousands of troops along Lebanon’s northern border. Nor were they particularly stunned, when two weeks ago, state-run Syrian television broadcast images of members of Fatah al-Islam, confessing to involvement in the September 28 Damascus car bombing even the 2005 murder of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, all funded apparently the latter’s family.
You see, Mr. Miliband, in Lebanon, where the memories of Syrian occupation are still fresh and often painful, the TV confessions and the saber rattling along its border felt more like a pre-emptive justification for interference in Lebanese security matters or even a limited military intervention to press home the idea that only Damascus can guarantee Lebanon will not become a breeding ground for Sunni extremists.
…
Mr. Miliband should not forget that the Syrian regime is high on the list of suspects in the Hariri and subsequent assassinations and has been quietly working with its allies in Lebanon to thwart the desire of most Lebanese to see justice run its course. Mr. Miliband’s government supports the UN-sponsored International Tribunal to bring Hariri’s killers to justice, and therefore he must not backtrack and allow Syria to believe that immunity from judicial proceedings can be won with warm diplomacy. It would be fatal for Lebanon’s aspirations of genuine democracy, sovereignty and independence.
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