First, I have supported this administration throughout the Iraq conflict. This administration made the correct decision, imo, to bring the baathist thugs to justice and holding them accountable for the twelve years of their thumbing of the nose to the international community. I have no doubt in my mind the conflict was overwhelmingly successful. Buck, the article makes a good case against Syria but also makes an even better case to back off. If Assad is partial to reform as the article suggests we could negotiate with this person. Despite my unfettered support for the president in Iraq I am of the opinion the rhetoric coming out of this administration on Syria is inappropriate. I agree dialogue could and should be engaged secretly. It appears Bush is working off the momentum coming off obvious victory in Iraq. Nothing wrong with that but Bush needs to live up to the democracy rhetoric he has been promising. Its premature to begin discussion on engaging another country. The article gives me some hope we can work with Syria. I'm not saying don't invade Syria (a strong case is there)but our plate is somewhat full with Afghanistan and Iraq in the status quo. I wouldn't be opposed to military strikes against targets Iraqi Baathists could be hiding but an all out invasion would be a mistake for now. These guys have helped provide intelligence in the war on terror and I wouldn't want to jeopardize any future relations that could prove beneficial to our anti-terror campaign and achieving peace in the middle-east if that is possible. P.S. I don't know about anyone else but this war has been mentally draining and has costed me hours of sleep. Heres to no more sleepless nights.
Why do they keep lumping Israel and America in the same corner as if they're concerns are our concerns? Once again, threats to Israel are NOT threats to the United States of America. Let Israel bear the fruit of their policies. America needs to quit supporting what's essentially a religious conflict. We let Israel have nukes but we're very against any mideast nation even having a whiff of chemical weapons. We know the people of Syria don't like us, but then again neither do the people of Saudi Arabia or Turkey so that's kind of a moot point. Saudi Arabian money was behind 9/11 but we're not invading them or threatening them with sanctions. As the FBI would say, follow the money and you'll find the criminals. Except in this case preliminary evidence pointed way up the list of important Saudi's so government agencies in charge of the investigation were told to look elsewhere. It somewhat mirrors american courtroom justice, as long as you don't get caught with a smoking gun you can get away with anything as long as you're rich and have the financial muscle to rent a few lawyers(politicians in this case).
Im marking this post down in my memory as one of the all time best. Ive been waiting for a new sig. Great stuff!
Unfortunately many Arabs believe that we are one and the same. Our enemies (Islamofascist fundamentalists) certainly think that we are, and therefore try to attack both of us. Unfortunately, the idea of a Zionist-CIA plot to take over the ME is not just a ridiculous conspiracy theory over there. It is a commonly accepted "fact" to many Arabs. Unfortunately, Israel's problem is our problem. I also agree that a finger needs to be pointed at Saudi. IMHO, they are right up there with Iran as supporters of anti-US/Israel terrorism, and they need to be dealt with (not invaded, just "dealt with").
