Posted on 05/22/2008 5:44:33 AM PDT by SJackson
Washington: The United States welcomed peace talks between Syria and Israel on Wednesday, saying it does not object to any discussions, but voiced concerns of their success.
US officials said they would welcome a peace deal between the two states, but stressed that its main concern would be the Israeli-Palestinian talks.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said they hoped for a more comprehensive peace agreement in the Middle East, and would welcome any effort towards that goal.
"We are going to work very hard on the Palestinian-Israeli front. We hope for the best on the Israeli-Syrian side and we do believe that there is work to be done vis-a-vis the outstanding issues with Lebanon, as well," she added.
The White House is not involved in the peace talks, but has been kept informed about them.
The top US diplomat for the Middle East, David Welch, said Washington would welcome the peace deal but suggested that it would be very hard to achieve.
He added that Washington had concerns about Syrian behaviour, alluding to the US view that Syria supports terrorism.
High Volume. Articles on Israel can also be found by clicking on the Topic or Keyword Israel. or WOT [War on Terror]
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I don't think a thing will be accomplished, but on the very remote possibility that Israel is successful in getting Syria to cut ties with Iran, a major potential positive for Lebanon, I don't see how not giving the Gaza barbarians a state is at all relative.
Here is a fuller article, showing that Syria “talks” (like some of his other approaches) is Olmert’s initiative, and Condi is there not only not to “push” Israel to give anything away, but to oversee and make sure Olmert doesn’t do anything on his own and give away anything for his “legacy”, before his rein comes to an end.
http://online.wsj.com/article_print/SB121150379628316115.html
Divisions Surface Between U.S., Israel on Strategy
Jerusalem’s Talks With Damascus Highlight Tensions
By JAY SOLOMON
May 23, 2008; Page A7
WASHINGTON — Dramatic shifts in Middle East diplomacy during the past week, including a political deal in Lebanon and Israeli-Syrian peace talks, are exposing significant strategic divisions between the U.S. and its closest regional ally, Israel.
The tensions, described in interviews with U.S. and Israeli officials in recent months, counter the widespread assumption that the Bush and Israeli governments march in lockstep on foreign policy. They also provide insight into why these new diplomatic initiatives may unravel ultimately, regional analysts said.
The most profound strategic division between Washington and Jerusalem concerns Israel’s engagement of Syrian President Bashar Assad. In revealing peace talks with Damascus this week, Israeli officials voiced a determination to peel Syria away from Iran, its principal regional ally. Among the goals is to undermine the two states’ support for extremist groups Hezbollah and Hamas, which operate on Israel’s borders.
But U.S. officials say the move undermines their efforts to punish Damascus. ...
...
The Israelis “don’t seem to understand that our interests and their interests in Lebanon aren’t aligned,” one senior U.S official working on the Middle East said. “In the short-term, the Israelis want to remove a threat on their border. But they don’t care about” the fate of Lebanon’s government.
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Israeli officials say Syria’s secular government is fundamentally averse to its strategic alliance with Iran’s Islamist rulers. They say Damascus needs to be offered economic and diplomatic incentives to offset the assistance supplied by Iran. The talks will also focus on Israel giving control of the Golan Heights region back to Damascus.
Israelis officials are fearful of facing a three-front war involving Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in the Gaza Strip and Syria on the Golan Heights. “Maybe it’s time to employ the carrot to remove [Syria] from the axis of evil,” then deputy chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces, Maj. Gen. Moshe Kaplinsky, said in Washington last fall.
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In recent months, Washington has moved to exact new financial sanctions against many of President Assad’s closest business associates and political allies. And the U.S. has worked with Arab states, particularly Saudi Arabia and Egypt, to isolate Damascus diplomatically in a bid to gain its assistance in stabilizing the region. Saudi Arabia and Egypt didn’t send top leaders to the Arab Summit in Damascus this March, to snub President Assad.
Divisions between the Bush administration and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s government on Syria may imperil the peace initiative. President Assad has said that such a deal is impossible without the active support of Washington. Damascus believes that American aid and the removal of U.S. sanctions on Syria would have to be part of any long-term agreement.
Bush administration officials have offered no indication that the U.S. is preparing to directly broker Syrian-Israeli talks. Instead, they say, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will focus her remaining months in office on supporting the Israeli-Palestinian peace track.
Some Syrian officials have said that a new U.S. administration that comes to power next January could be more supportive of such a peace tract. The two leading candidates to replace President Bush, Senators Barack Obama and John McCain, both released statements saying they supported Israel’s position.
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