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Posts Tagged ‘syria and iran’

"Iran & Syria have had a bad few years in Iraq, but they are willing to wait. Patience is not our strong suit …"

July 9th, 2010 Arab News No comments

‘USS NEW JERSEY’

Ryan Crocker in Irving Kristol’s National Interest/ here

“… Our withdrawal from Lebanon in 1984 was a victory for Syria and Iran who created and used Hezbollah against us with devastating consequences. They drew conclusions about our staying power, and when I stepped off the helicopter in Baghdad on a warm night in March 2007 as the new American ambassador, I had the eerie feeling that I was back in Lebanon a quarter of a century earlier. Iran and Syria had again combined efforts against us, this time supporting Jaish al-Mahdi and al-Qaeda instead of Hezbollah (in fact, Hezbollah trainers were working with Jaish al-Mahdi)……..
Iran and Syria have had a bad few years in Iraq, but they are willing to wait. Patience is not our strong suit. Over the years, in the broader Middle East, our allies have come to fear our strategic impatience, and our adversaries to count on it. Our disengagement from Pakistan and Afghanistan after the Soviet retreat in 1989 ultimately gave al-Qaeda the space to plan the 9/11 attacks. Now we are back; but in Afghanistan in 2002 and in Pakistan from 2004 to 2007, I found many who wondered when we would head for the exits again …”

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Categories: Arab Blogs Tags: al mahdi, irving kristol, Jaish, New, Qaeda, syria and iran

US voices concern over Syria-Iran ties (AFP)

July 1st, 2010 Arab News No comments

Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani holds a press conference at the Iranian embassy in Damascus at the end of his visit to Syria. The United States voiced concern Thursday over cooperation between Syria and Iran after reports Tehran had sent a radar system that would boost defenses against Israel.(AFP/Louai Beshara)AFP – The United States voiced concern Thursday over cooperation between Syria and Iran after reports Tehran had sent a radar system that would boost defenses against Israel.

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Categories: Arab News Tags: AFP, radar system, Source, syria and iran, system, Tehran

"… much ado about nothing"

March 10th, 2010 Arab News No comments

“……… “This dialogue is going nowhere,” said Rafic Khoury, chief editor of the independent daily Al-Anwar, referring to national defence strategy talks that resumed on Tuesday at the presidential palace before being adjourned until March 15.
“Hezbollah, as well as Syria and Iran, clearly stated recently their strategy of resistance against Israel,” he added.
The talks, which were launched in 2006, have repeatedly been adjourned because of the successive political crises that have shaken Lebanon.
The last round was held in June 2009.
The stated aim is for Lebanon’s Western- and Saudi-backed majority and a coalition led by the Iranian- and Syrian-supported Shiite militant group to agree on a national defence strategy as concerns neighbouring enemy Israel…….
Prior to the resumption of the talks on Tuesday, Hezbollah set the tone by saying its weapons were not open to discussion…..
“No one is talking about disarming Hezbollah,” said Ammar Houry, a majority MP. “We want to come up with a solution whereby Hezbollah’s arsenal becomes part of an overall defence strategy overseen by the state.”….
The daily Al-Akhbar, close to Hezbollah, summed up the situation on Tuesday with a headline that read “National dialogue: the play,” ….”

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Categories: Arab Blogs Tags: Al-Akhbar, Al-Anwar, defence, hezbollah, Iran, Israel, Lebanon, political crises, shiite militant group, Strategy, Syria, syria and iran

Hariri & the limits of US influence in Lebanon

January 11th, 2010 Arab News No comments

in the WaPo/ here


“… The June election victory by Hariri’s coalition came just after Obama delivered a major speech from Cairo and just before violent street demonstrations rattled the government in Iran, considered an important influence in Lebanon because of its support for Hezbollah. Some Obama advisers went so far as to attribute Hariri’s success to the mood of reform the president had brought to the region. ……
“We won the election, but it looks like we lost,” said Marwan Hamadeh, a member of parliament and supporter of the “Cedar Revolution,” which has aimed to curb the influence of both Syria and Iran in the country at a time when other power brokers, especially the United States, want to talk with both nations. “There has been a lot of realism and a lot of frustration. The Cedar Revolution forces were convinced: Why look for a fight when everyone is trying to negotiate with Iran and Syria?”
The shape of Hariri’s coalition is not seen by U.S. officials as a major setback; they view it instead as far preferable to a coalition dominated by Hezbollah and its allies. Hezbollah maintains a militia that it justifies as necessary for potential conflict with Israel, despite a U.N. resolution ordering the group to disarm. …
“It’s glass half empty, glass half full,” Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said as he toured the country last week. “Does Hariri’s visit to Damascus mean you have to beg for Damascus’s dispensation, or does it mean that Bashar wants a new relationship? It remains to be seen.” ……..
Hariri’s visit to Damascus, according to his supporters and others, was brokered by Saudi Arabia, which has been taking its own steps to repair relations with Assad. What’s less clear — and under debate here — is whether the Saudis were hoping to weaken Syria’s long-standing alliance with Iran by making amends or were hedging against the possibility that Obama will fail in his efforts to keep Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons technology. …..
But there is still worry here that the momentum of the Cedar Revolution has been lost, and skepticism that U.S. efforts to engage Syria and Iran will change the behavior of either. The shape of the new government has only added to those concerns.
“Everybody is waiting to see if the Syrians will deliver, and if the Iranians win or lose their battle” both internally and with the United States, said Ghattas Khoury, a former member of parliament who is close to Hariri. “I think everyone reached the conclusion that these were not things you can do much about.”

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Categories: Arab Blogs Tags: Ariz., Cairo, coalition, Damascus, Hariri, Iran, Israel, Lebanon, nuclear weapons technology, Obama, Saudi Arabia, Sen. John McCain, Syria, syria and iran, U.S., United States