Britain appeases a dictator

Jerusalem Post ^ | Dec. 14, 2002

[SJackson]

"An appeaser," Winston Churchill once noted, "is one who feeds a crocodile - hoping it will eat him last." British Prime Minister Tony Blair would do well to recall his predecessor's admonition, particularly as he prepares to host the Syrian president in London this week. For by rolling out the red carpet to the likes of Bashar Assad, Blair has inexplicably chosen to court a dictator, rather than confront him. And, as the free world prepares to confront Iraq, that is precisely the wrong message for Britain to be sending.

Assad's visit marks the first time a Syrian leader has paid an official visit to London, and he is being given no less than the "royal treatment." In addition to his meeting with Blair, Assad will have an audience with the Queen and Prince Charles, and will be entertained by the Mayor of London at a special banquet in his honor. Not bad for a man who rules with an iron fist, harbors terrorist groups, suppresses human rights, and is working hard to develop ballistic missile technology and non-conventional weapons.

Earlier this year, in his June 24 speech at the White House on the Middle East, US President George W. Bush put Syria on notice, saying, "And Syria must choose the right side in the war on terror by closing terrorist camps and expelling terrorist organizations." Since then, Syria has made clear what its choice is.

In an interview with the Times of London on Friday, Blair's Syrian lunch guest justified Palestinian suicide bombing attacks against Israel, saying that they are "a reaction to the terrorism practiced by Sharon." Asked about the fact that Hamas and Islamic Jihad both maintain their terrorist headquarters in downtown Damascus, Assad dismissed such assertions, saying they were merely "media offices." He also denied that Saddam Hussein was a threat to the region, and admitted that Iraqi oil is being smuggled across the border with Syria in violation of UN sanctions.

On the same day that his interview appeared in London, Assad's representative at the United Nations in New York was reaffirming his regime's sympathy for terrorists. The UN Security Council on Friday debated a resolution condemning the November 28 terror attacks in Mombasa, Kenya, which killed three Israelis and ten Kenyans at the Paradise Hotel. The resolution passed by a vote of 14 to 1, with the only "nay" vote coming from Syria, whose representative explained that his country could not support it "because it cannot accept the mention of Israel several times."

To readers of the Syrian government-controlled press, such reasoning will hardly sound outlandish, as the Jewish state is often portrayed in the vilest of terms. On December 5, an article in the official Syria Times asked, "Is there any difference between Nazism's war and Israel's all-out war against Palestinians?... In fact, Zionism is emulating Nazism." On November 23, the Damascus daily Al-Thawra praised Palestinian terrorist attacks against Israel, asserting that "The heroic operations of the brave intifada are the practical response to the Zionist crimes."

None of this, however, seems to have bothered Prime Minister Blair one whit. But what is truly inconceivable is his readiness to overlook Assad's efforts to assist Saddam, and even al-Qaida. In July, reports surfaced that Syria was helping Saddam rearm, using its ports as transfer points for a steady flow of weapons and ammunition from Eastern Europe to Iraq. And, in early September, it was revealed that Syria had permitted some 150 al-Qaida operatives to find refuge in the Ein Hilweh refugee camp outside Sidon.

By hosting Assad at 10 Downing Street, Blair is signalling that with respect to Syria, he is a European, preferring "engagement" over confrontation. The truth is that the European attempt to seduce dictators in Baghdad, Teheran, and Damascus has been a total failure and Blair knows it. On Iraq, he has bravely sided with the United States, and now he seems to feel a need to demonstrate that he is willing to part ways with Washington elsewhere. While this approach can be understood in the context of British or European politics, it cannot be justified by any difference between the regimes in question.

In all three cases - Iran, Iraq, and Syria - the control of the dictatorship is near total, and the regimes have demonstrated that their support for terrorism and aggression is limited only by what they can get away with. It should be obvious by now that they will not be sweet-talked into ending their unacceptable behavior, and that such courting only emboldens them to attempt more mischief and blackmail.

Blair no doubt remembers during his last attempt to appease Assad, when he paid him a visit in Damascus just a few weeks after the World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks, the Syrian leader publicly humiliated him. At the joint press conference following their meeting, Assad defended Palestinian terror against Israel and sharply criticized US-led air strikes against the Taliban and Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan.

Rather than sending Assad an invitation to tea, Blair instead should have sent him a warning: Cease your support for terror, or prepare to face the consequences. For, as Churchill demonstrated some six decades ago, that is the only type of message a dictator understands.

[Sparta]

Blair is a socialist jackass.