When Obama announced that he was sending our ambassador back to Syria, many conservatives argued that it would be perceived regionally as a win for Iran. Liberal foreign policy experts countered with tired boilerplate about how the gesture would peel Assad away from Tehran. Let’s check in:
Syria and Iran wrapped up meetings in Damascus to move forward with plans to develop bilateral economic ties further, officials say. Engineering companies active in Syria have set up 11 different economic projects that have generated more than $1.3 billion in the decade since they were established… Mohammad Saeidikia, the Iranian housing and urban development minister, met with Syrian Trade Minister Amer Husni Lutfi for two days in Damascus to further develop those economic trends, the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting agency reports.
Well that sucks. At least Assad isn’t having girls bite the heads off live snakes in symbolic defiance of Obama. That’s something the regime reserves for celebrations of Syria’s 1973 surprise attack on Israel. Very strong content warning, disturbing graphic violence, etc:
In fairness, the live snake eating thing hasn’t been done since the President’s outreach. It’s just something Obama was willing to look past so he could indulge his internationalist predispositions. I doubt it would even come up in the bilateral talks that Assad just proposed. Too close to “meddling?”
References:
* Obama Looking Past That Messy “Hariri Murder” Thing, Sending Ambassador Back To Syria [MR]
* US-Syria relations still mired in mistrust [BBC]
* Iran, Syria push economic ties [UPI]
* The Syrian snake eating girls [Elder of Ziyon]
* Syria Invites Obama To Damascus Summit [Sky News]
Previously:
* Confirmed: Obama Surrogates Were Negotiating With Iran And Syria During Election (Plus: Results Thus Far A Little Short Of Spectacular) (UPDATE: Just How Many Delegations Did Obama Send To Assad?)
* Iran Misses Memo About How Sunnis And Shiites Don’t Cooperate, Gives Syria Cutting Edge Offensive Missiles (Plus: Expert Sophistication Wrong On Iranian Nuclearization. Again)
* Smug Liberal Sophistication Undisturbed By Decades Of Disastrously Wrong Domestic And International Predictions
