November 22, 2008
Syria ends security ties with U.S.
BEIRUT, Lebanon - Under constant pressure from the Bush administration to prevent fighters and funds from reaching Iraqi insurgents, Syria has ended its military and security cooperation with Washington.
The move robs the United States of a potential behind-the-scenes ally in its campaign against terrorism. Shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, Syria's vast security apparatus began sharing information with U.S. intelligence agencies about Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network and other Islamic militants. Syrian officials say they also have detained dozens of al-Qaida members who slipped into the country.
But angered by persistent criticism from Washington that it is not doing enough to keep militants from infiltrating into Iraq, the Syrian regime recently cut off all its ties with the CIA and U.S. military officials. The decision, which was first reported in yesterday's New York Times, reflects a feeling in Damascus that Syria has not received enough credit for its cooperation.
"The United States cannot keep on making demands on Syria, and offering nothing in return," said Ibrahim Darraji, an international law professor at Damascus University. "In fact, the Americans only offer more accusations."
In one example of Syria's cooperation, Syrian and U.S. officials disclosed in June 2002 that Syria had provided Washington with information that helped foil an al-Qaida attack on U.S. troops stationed in the Persian Gulf.
Another example of Syria's assistance was its detention of Mohammed Haydar Zammar, a German citizen originally from Syria who is suspected of having recruited several of the Sept. 11 hijackers into al-Qaida. Syrian officials said Zammar, who was also wanted by Germany, was extradited in mid-2002 from Morocco, with U.S. knowledge. Some analysts say the United States has diverted terrorism suspects to Syria and other Arab countries where interrogators are likely to use torture.
Soon after the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime in April 2003, U.S. officials ratcheted up the rhetoric against Syria, accusing it of developing chemical weapons and harboring Iraqis wanted by the United States. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, along with several members of Congress and hard-liners at the Pentagon, led the charge against Damascus.
Tensions escalated again after the Feb. 14 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Many Lebanese accused Syria of being complicit in Hariri's killing, a charge Syria denied. The day after Hariri's killing, the United States recalled its ambassador to Damascus, who is still in Washington.
On May 5, President George W. Bush renewed economic sanctions against Syria that had been put in place last year. Bush said Damascus was still supporting terrorism and had not done enough to secure its border with Iraq.
Last week, a senior U.S. military official claimed that Islamic militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi met recently with his lieutenants in Syria to plot an intensive campaign of car bombings to undermine Iraq's new government. But the American assessment contradicts the view of some Iraqi security officials, who have told Newsday the insurgency is now being driven more by former members of Hussein's security services, and less so by foreign militants like al-Zarqawi.
Some experts also question whether the Syrian regime would make an alliance with Islamic extremists. Syria's ruling Baath Party, a secular movement rooted in Arab nationalism, has always been wary of al-Qaida-style militants. In 1982, then Syrian President Hafez Assad crushed a rebellion by a Syrian wing of the Muslim Brotherhood with troops who killed more than 10,000 people and destroyed much of the city of Hama.
One part of the dispute between Syria and the United States is over how each defines terrorism. Syrian leaders say Palestinian groups such as Islamic Jihad and Hamas, which have leaders living in Damascus, are fighting a legitimate struggle to end Israeli occupation.
Washington has placed Syria on the annual list of states that sponsor terrorism since the 1980s, and diplomats say that is unlikely to change unless Syria ceases its backing of Palestinian and Lebanese militant groups.
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