<%@LANGUAGE="VBSCRIPT" CODEPAGE="1252"%> WorldTribune.com: Mobile — U.S. may seek to lure Syria from Iran axis
U.S. may seek to lure Syria from Iran axis

Wednesday, October 8, 2008 Free Headline Alerts

WASHINGTON — The Bush administration is reviewing a State Department proposal to lift U.S. sanctions from Syria.

Officials said the administration has been pressed by the State Department to take measures that would bolster the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad. They said the department, in an assessment formed with the U.S. intelligence community, believes that the Assad regime was split between supporters and opponents of a strategic relationship with Iran.

"We could play a role in helping those elements who want Syria to reconcile with the West," an official said.

Officials said Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has supported the removal of some U.S. sanctions from Syria.

On Sept. 28, Ms. Rice met Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Mualem at the Arab League foreign ministers dinner at the United Nations and discussed options for an improvement in U.S.-Syrian relations.

On Sept. 29, Assistant Secretary of State David Welch met Mualem for a detailed discussion of a reconciliation. Officials said Welch raised several options for an improvement in relations over the next few weeks.

"The two reviewed Syrian policy, particularly its role in Iraq, relations with Iran and Lebanon," another official said. "The discussion was comprehensive."

So far, the State Department has not acknowledged a reassessment of U.S. relations with Syria. On Oct. 6, State Department spokesman Robert Wood warned Syria against a military buildup along the Lebanese border in wake of a car bombing in Damascus on Sept. 27.

"The recent terrorist attacks that took place in Tripoli [Lebanon] and Damascus should not serve as a pretext for, you know, further Syrian military engagement or, should not be used to interfere in Lebanese internal affairs," Wood said. "The Syrian government is well aware of our views with regard to any kind of military activity along the border."

Officials said Ms. Rice has been closely following the unrest within the Assad regime. Two senior Syrian officers, including Assad's military adviser, were assassinated in attacks believed to have stemmed from a neighboring Arab state.

"We are detecting increasing willingness by Assad to come to a deal," the official said.

Josh Landis, a leading U.S. analyst on Syria, said the Defense Department, State Department and U.S. intelligence community have long urged the administration to reassess policy toward Syria. But Landis said he doubted whether President George Bush would significantly improve U.S. relations with Damascus.

"The stories on the U.S. being on the verge of lifting sanctions on Syria, seem too good to be true," Landis said. "I doubt any action will be taken to improve relations with Syria so long as President Bush sits in the White House."

   WorldTribune Home