Indymedia-Lëtzebuerg - ANALYSIS: U.S. takes page from Israel's book in Syria strike

Published by Haaretz
Monday, 27 October 2008
Amos Harel Those who anticipated an American bombing of Iran on the eve of the presidential elections or immediately after must for the moment be satisfied with a somewhat lesser replacement: the helicopter attack Sunday night in north-eastern Syria. The central target of the attack, according to initial reports overnight, was a senior operative in the "global jihad" - the web of organizations connected to al-Qaida. The context, from an American perspective, is mainly Iraqi. This was a strike on those who have been causing them problems in their backyard and an attempt to gain stability in Iraq. But there are also consequences for Israel. The readiness of Bashar Assad to renew diplomatic negotiations with Israel a year ago with the help of Turkish mediators can be explained to a large extent by the hope in Damascus that it would enable them to become closer to Washington. This didn't really happen (although Assad did derive an immediate dividend with his improved image in the Arabic world and a warming of relations with Europe.) Although President Bush did not veto the Israel-Syria discussions, his administration remained very skeptical of the Syrian regime and continued to see Damascus as a part of the axis of evil. The U.S. also refused to implement practical actions that would encourage the Syrians to make progress in negotiations. Now it has become clear that the U.S. will not hesitate to attack terrorist targets within Syrian territory. In this regard the Americans are not alone. Israel preceded them with the attack on the Dir a-Zour nuclear facility in September last year, not to mention a succession of mysterious incidents on Syrian soil, from the assassination of Imad Mughniyeh last February to the assassination of Brigadier General Mohammad Suleiman around two months ago. The common denominator to all these operations is that nobody takes the Syrians seriously anymore, given the repeated violations of their sovereignty. It is doubtful the domestic security situation there has ever been this unstable. The lack of stability in Syria adds to the already-tense situation between Israel and Lebanon. Military Intelligence chief Amos Yadlin said Sunday that weapons-smuggling from Syria to Hezbollah is continuing across the country. Defense Minister Ehud Barak warned that Israel is prepared to attack weapons convoys, on a background of Hezbollah efforts to equip itself with anti-aircraft missiles. Before the attack the U.S. issued a warning. At a press conference last week a senior American commander in western Iraq warned that the situation is worsening on the Syrian border, while at the same time Saudi Arabia and Jordan did as the Americans asked and closed their borders with Iraq. This modus operandi is reminiscent of Israeli "targeted killings": an effective combination of intelligence and operation, with the use of aerial strikes accompanied by a commando force to confirm the operation's success. However, it appears that the success of Sunday's operation will not cancel out the continued frustration of the U.S. in its struggle with al-Qaida and its allies. It's not just that the Taliban and its partners are retaking control in Afghanistan, but that the pursuit of Osama bin Laden remains crowned by failure, more than seven years after 9/11. It is a sore point for the Bush administration. In the opening sketch of "Saturday Night Live" last week, George W. Bush (portrayed by comedian Will Ferrell) proudly exclaimed: "George Bush always gets his man", before adding, "save for one huge exception."

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