Pressure on Israel to give up the Golan, reinvigorated US-Syrian diplomatic ties despite Assad’s continued interference with the Hariri tribunal, and a generous offer by Obama to look the other way while Damascus continues to develop WMDs – smart power is very smart:
Iran’s supreme leader called his country’s alliance with Syria a symbol of resistance in the Middle East on Wednesday, seeking to reinforce a key relationship as Tehran fends off continued criticism over its response to post-election unrest. Visiting Syrian President Bashar Assad exemplified that resistance by criticizing foreign countries for provoking the massive protests that followed Iran’s disputed June presidential election. His comments will likely disappoint the Obama administration, which has stepped up diplomatic efforts to pull Syria away from Iran. “I’ve come here today to personally convey my warm congratulations to you and the Iranian nation,” Assad was quoted.
Not only has Obama “stepped up efforts” to suck up to Syria: he’s gone so far as to repeatedly trot out surrogates to announce that his oh-so-sophisticated strategy was paying dividends. Turns out not so much.
Iranian press spun Assad’s visit as a veritably divine signal that regional actors need to open up a “resistance front” because Israel and the US have become “weak.” Terrific:
In a telephone conversation, the Iranian and Syrian Presidents have stated Israel and its allies are getting “weaker” and instead the tide is turning in favor of regional Muslim nations, the Presidential office said in a press report on Friday. According to Mehr News Agency, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said “the enemies of regional peace are losing the ground but the formidable alliance of friendly countries like Iran and Syria are getting more powerful.” The Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad also insisted that regional developments “are turning in favor of Muslim countries and to the detriment of the Zionist regime and its allies.”
No worries though – I’m sure that our renewed promise to deliver Israel and the security team we’re sending to Damascus will cause Assad to like us the bestest.
References and previously after the jump…
References:
* Obama Envoy George Mitchell: Oh, And Israel Also Needs To Give Up The Golan [MR]
* Obama Looking Past That Messy “Hariri Murder” Thing, Sending Ambassador Back To Syria [MR]
* Obama’s Rush To Engage Syria Uninhibited By IAEA Confirmation Of Syrian Nuke Program [MR]
* Syria Responding To Waves Of Congressional Democrats With Shiny New Chemical Weapons Factory [MR]
* Iran’s supreme leader reinforces Syria alliance [AP]
* Kerry: “Syria Leaning Towards The West.” Syria: “No We’re Not.” [MR]
* Leader calls Iran-Syria unity the symbol of regional resistance [Tehran Times]
* Ahmadinejad, Assad believe balance of power turning against Israel [Kuwait News Agency]
* Washington committed to seeking Syria-Israel deal [Reuters]
* U.S. security team to visit Syria, focus on Iraq [Reuters]
Previously:
* Susan Rice Goes To New York, Publicly Trashes Bush (Plus: Obama: “No Second Thoughts” On Robinson)
* Iran: No, Of Course We’re Not Willing To Negotiate About Nukes
* Great News: Obama Reaching Out To Pakistani Islamist Parties
