Secret U.S. plan to overthrow Syrian government 12/22/2006 7:00:00
AM GMT
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(www.nndb.com) Syrian President Bashar al-Assad
The Bush administration is secretly funding political opposition to the
Syrian government in a bid to topple President Bashar al-Assads regime,
according to a classified document seen by the Time Magazine.
The two-page document states that the U.S. is already supporting regular
meetings of internal and diaspora Syrian activists" in Washington, Europe and
even Syria to facilitate a more coherent strategy and plan of actions for all
anti-Assad activists."
It also says that Syrias legislative elections, due in March, provide a
potentially galvanizing issue for... critics of the Assad regime. To seize
this opportunity, the document proposes a secret "election monitoring" scheme,
in which "internet accessible materials will be available for printing and
dissemination by activists inside the country [Syria] and neighboring
countries."
The proposal also calls for funding at least one Syrian politician who plans
to run in the election. The secret scheme would also include "voter education
campaigns" and public opinion polling, with the first poll "tentatively
scheduled in early 2007."
Quoting unidentified U.S. officials, the Time Magazine said the
election-monitoring scheme hasnt yet been approved, in part because the
Syrian elections could be postponed or even cancelled. But one official
familiar with the proposal said: "You are forced to wonder whether we are now
trying to destabilize the Syrian government."
According to U.S. foreign policy experts, the scheme was developed by a
"democracy and public diplomacy" working group that meets weekly at the State
department to discuss Iran and Syria.
The State Department's deputy spokesman, Thomas Casey, said the proposal had
already been through several classified drafts, but that "the basic concept is
very much still valid."
Some critics in Congress and the White House say that such a scheme, aimed at
secretly ousting a foreign government, should be legally deemed a "covert
action", which by law would require that the Bush administration inform the
intelligence committees on Capitol Hill. Some congressmen are also expected to
oppose the secret use of publicly appropriated funds to enforce democracy in
another country.
The Bush administration severed high-level diplomatic ties with Syria in late
2004, saying that the Syrian government failed to stop the flow of fighters
into Iraq or stop support for the resistance movements Hezbollah and Hamas.
Analysts say any U.S.-planned attempt to overthrow Assads government could
eliminate the possibility of future dialogue between Washington and Damascus
as proposed by the Iraq Study Group and several U.S. allies.
The whole effort could also be a waste of time, according to Edward P.
Djerejian, a former U.S. ambassador to Syria who worked on the Iraq Study Group
report.
The Syrian opposition is so fractured and weak that there is little to be
gained by such a venture, Djerejian told the Time Magazine. To fund opposition
parties on the margins is a distraction at best," he said. It will only impede
the better option of engaging Syria on much more important, fundamental issues
like Iraq, peace with Israel, and the dangerous situation in Lebanon."
Other analysts point to another goal for the proposed scheme. "Ever since the
U.S. invasion of Iraq, which Syria opposed, the Bush Administration has been
looking for ways to squeeze the government in Damascus," says Joshua Landis, a
Syria expert who is co-director of the Center for Peace Studies at the
University of Oklahoma.
"Syria has appeared to be next on the Administration's agenda to reform the
greater Middle East
This is apparently an effort to gin up the Syrian
opposition under the rubric of 'democracy promotion' and 'election monitoring,'
but it's really just an attempt to pressure the Syrian government" into doing
what Washington wants, Landis said.
Syria wants to help U.S.
President Assad wants to work with the U.S. to bring stability to Iraq, the
U.S. Democratic Senator John F. Kerry said on Thursday after meeting the Syrian
president.
Kerry, who visited Syria along with Democratic Senator Christopher J. Dodd,
despite the administration's opposition to the trip said that the meeting
with Assad reinforced the need to follow the recommendation of the Iraq Study
Group that Washington directly engage Syria and Iran to find a way forward in
Iraq.
"He offered some very direct and concrete ways in which they could be helpful
in Iraq," Kerry said. "I came away with a distinct feeling that there are
opportunities here. There are fronts in which we can work together if people
are inclined to."
Kerry also said that Damascus is interested in approaching the Iraq War from
a regional perspective, where other Middle East issues -- including the
Israeli- Palestinian conflict -- are part of the equation.
The Massachusetts Democrat also reiterated that President Bush is wrong to
rule out direct talks with Syria and Iran. He added that he intends to visit
Iran at an "appropriate time".
"I think you've got to talk with people," Kerry said. "You can disagree with
them and disagree with them and disagree with them, and you may not get
anywhere, but you've got to talk to people."
Meanwhile, Syrias official news agency said that Kerry-Dodds meeting with
Assad was an opportunity for Damascus to work toward an end to violence in
Iraq, and to pressure Israel to pull out from the Golan Heights, Syrian
territory that has been occupied by Israel since 1967.
"The president and the two senators discussed the deteriorating situation in
Palestine and the need to preserve Palestinian national unity," the SANA agency
reported. "The Baker-Hamilton [Iraq Study Group] report was discussed and
President Assad affirmed the need to stop violence in Iraq, and Syria's
readiness to achieve Middle East peace under honest international auspices."
Kerry and Dodds visit to Syria is part of a wider diplomatic initiative by
senators to improve U.S. relations with Syria. Last week, Senator Bill Nelson,
a Democrat, became the first senator in nearly two years to meet with Assad. He
said after the meeting that the Syrian president clearly indicated the
willingness to cooperate" with U.S. and Iraqi troops to secure his country's
border with Iraq.
Senator Arlen Specter, a Republican, is also expected to go to Damascus later
this week.
-- AJP and Agencies
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