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Setting the Record Straight

Smart Diplomats Can Take On Multiple Syrian Tracks

posted on 04/28/08

"The conditions do not exist for an improvement of relations with Syria so long as Syrian policies remain hostile to important interests of ours in the Middle East. It is appropriate to continue sanctions and pressures on Syria so long as this is the case. And, based on the experience of past meetings with President Assad, I am skeptical of the value of further diplomatic overtures in the absence of significant improvements in U.S. leverage or in the overall balance of forces in the region."
–Peter W. Rodman, former assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs, Department of Defense (2001-2007); senior fellow, The Brookings Institution, testimony before the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia, April 24, 2008

VS.

"Sponsoring Israeli-Syrian negotiations does not require the U.S. to drop any of its other concerns, from maintaining the independence of Lebanon, to ensuring the effectiveness of the Special Tribunal, to pressing Damascus to end its human rights abuses and its sponsorship of terrorist organizations. Indeed, if the next president goes down this road toward a more constructive engagement with Syria, the United States would be able more effectively to pursue each of these issues.”
–Martin S. Indyk, former U.S. ambassador to Israel and assistant secretary of state for Near East affairs, Department of State (1997-2000); director, Saban Center for Middle East Policy, The Brookings Institution,testimony before the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia, April 24, 2008