The Daily Clarity

Syria – Rumors and Updates

It has been a busy few days for Damascus, and for the media that have been following the US attack inside Syria. The US has still not officially confirmed or denied the attack inside the Syrian border that killed 8 people was a US action. Syria however, unlike Pakistan who is subject to similar US incursions, is not just making diplomatic protests – it is taking action. Syria has cut off diplomatic ties with Iraq. Syria is angered that Iraq was used as a staging post for the attack. In addition, Syria has pulled back its troops from the Iraqi border and not making any effort to prevent any militia crossing back and forth. This is the opposite of what the US wanted. The US wanted the border to be made more secure, but the incursion, poorly considered and timed, has produced exactly the opposite effect.

This has also had ramifications in Baghdad. The Iraqi government added a rushed clause to any agreement with the US to extend US military presence in the country, demanding that Iraqi territory not be used as a base for any attack on a neighboring country. Then today, the Iraqi government has escalated the debate even further. Iraq demanded that the US provide all details of the attack, so that they can review the reasoning and best manage the diplomatic fallout. So far this has been met by a stony silence by the US. This US attack has caused major ripples in relationships in the region. Even if the strike did take out a terrorist cell, which is questioned by many, the negative impact on US objectives in the area has been a very high price to pay for such a tactical operation.

Then there are the rumors…many media outlets cited a rumor from an unnamed source, that said Syria had secretly consented to the attack before it took place. This rumor came with its own supportive reasoning. The Syrian secular government was facing internal violence from Sunni militia. There had been a bombing In Damascus by the militants (true), and that the Sunni were planning to stage a major campaign of violence against the Syrian government (unproven). On this basis, Syria authorized the attack. This apparently allowed many in the US to play down the diplomatic impact as a charade for show. This rumor took on a life of its own and ran rife across the Internet. It was an apologists dream – a conspiracy theory that showed the US did not act rashly.

Repeating a rumor multiple times is clever PR but does not make it true. Maybe, the Pentagon started the rumor itself. However, the facts and the recent actions don’t support it. Firstly, an 8 man Al-Qaeda cell (if the rumor is correct) was taken out. This is something the Syrians would not have needed help to do. It was not a massive attack but a strategic strike. The Syrian army could easily have handled that. If deniability was the issue, the attack took place in a relatively remote area. Am assassination squad, dressed in civilian clothes could have easily achieved the same objective, and with no one being able to tie the Syrian government to the action. It is preposterous to think that the Syrian government would need to call in 4 US attack helicopters and special forces unit to deal with that issue. Second, Syrian has kept up the protests. They are not a charade. Yesterday there were massive demonstrations at the US Embassy in Damascus. The Embassy, US schools and other interests have been forced to close. As mentioned earlier, Syria has pulled troops away from the border facilitating easy militia crossing, and broken off diplomatic ties with Iraq. These are not the actions of a government conspiring with the US. There was one small glimmer of good news from Syria today. Despite the US aggression, Syria has agreed to continue indirect peace negotiations with Israel as brokered by Turkey. With Israel and Syria at the table talking peace, the US incursion seems even more extreme. Many in the region cannot wait for the current US administration to leave office, and against this background, Condoleezza Rice is heading on a diplomatic mission to the Middle East next week. We wish her well, but she is going to be adked some very difficult questions.