Strange Visit from a Terror Land
Syrian dictator visits Britain
By Michael Freund
December 16, 2002
Britain
this week will be rolling out the red carpet for an unusual visitor:
a dictator straight out of central casting.
Tony Blair's guest of honor is a man who harbors terrorist groups,
suppresses human rights, threatens his neighbors, and refuses
to allow free and fair elections. He spends vast sums of money
on developing ballistic-missile technology and non-conventional
weapons, and his country is on the U.S. State Department list
of countries supporting terror.
No, it isn't Saddam Hussein — though the description certainly
fits — it is his neighbor and cohort Bashar Al-Assad, the
despot of Damascus. Assad arrived in London Monday for a three-day
visit, where his busy schedule includes a meeting with Blair,
a banquet hosted by the mayor of London, and even an audience
with the queen.
The last time Blair and Assad met was in Syria, in late October
2001, when the British premier made his way to Damascus to plead
for Syrian help in the war on terror. But instead of cooperation,
what Blair got was humiliation. At a joint press conference following
their meeting, Assad proceeded to defend Palestinian terrorist
attacks against Israel and lambasted American air strikes on Taliban
positions in Afghanistan.
Blair, of course, has come under pressure at home for his unswerving
support for America's stance on the war on terror. Undoubtedly,
by inviting Assad, he is seeking to show that he is his own man,
with his own policy, even if it may conflict with that of Washington.
But his choice of guests nevertheless remains baffling. On Sunday,
the U.K. Daily Telegraph reported that, "Syria is secretly
helping Saddam Hussein to prepare for a United Stated-led attack
by smuggling vital arms supplies to Baghdad."
Citing Western intelligence officials, the paper said at least
52 crates of new, Russian-made air-defense systems and spare parts
have been smuggled into Iraq from Syria since the beginning of
December, for which the Assad regime receives a commission of
20 percent. Those very same supplies will presumably be deployed
against American, as well as British, pilots once the war in Iraq
starts.
And, as the London Times noted last Friday, Syria is actively
helping Saddam to violate U.N. sanctions by smuggling as much
as 150,000 barrels a day of Iraqi oil across its borders for sale
abroad. The profits, of course, are undoubtedly going to line
Saddam's pockets and those of his cronies, as well as to upgrade
Iraq's defenses for its upcoming battle with the U.S.
What's more, the Syrian government-controlled press is replete
with harsh anti-American and anti-Semitic rhetoric. On Monday,
an article in the English-language Syria Times said that Israel
is an "alien body" in the Middle East, one which is
"characterized chiefly by its racist, terrorist, aggressive
and expansionist nature... Zionism, like Nazism is a creed without
future. It will face the same fate that Nazism had."
On December 5, the paper ran an article accusing the United States
of being one of the "hypocrites of the new world order,"
asserting that America was using the "pretext of disarming"
Iraq so as to mass its military forces in the region.
Indeed, Syrian officials, such as Foreign Minister Farouk al-Sharaa,
who is accompanying Assad on his London outing, have repeatedly
come out against American policy on Iraq, reinforcing Arab suspicions
about American intentions and further eroding its support throughout
the Arab world.
It is therefore inexplicable that Blair would see fit to host
the likes of Assad, whose words and deeds would seem more deserving
of an ultimatum rather than a visit to 10 Downing Street.
And so, while Saddam prepares for an audience with the Royal
Marines, Assad will be having tea with the royal family. London's
skyline, it seems, is not the only thing that is cloudy these
days — apparently Tony Blair's moral compass is starting
to fog up a little, too.
— Michael Freund served as deputy director of communications
and policy planning in the Israeli prime minister's office from
1996 to 1999. He is currently an editorial writer and columnist
for the Jerusalem Post.
This article was originally published in the The
National Review on December 16, 2002
Home
| Worthwhile Reading
| Cartoons
| Videos
| Selected Quotes
| Links |
Contact
us
