When Syria Was a US Ally
By Juan Cole, Informed Comment
08 September 13
ne of George Orwell's keenest insights in 1984 is the kaleidoscopic
character of modern state-to-state relations, wherein countries go from being
allies to enemies and back again, and government spokesmen and the press report
on each situation (friendship or enmity) as though it was eternal.
As the US prepares a possible missile attack on Syria,
it is worth remembering the times in modern history when Syria was cooperative
with the US or even an ally (yes). I'm not sure on whom this record of
cooperation reflects worse, but it shows it is a Realist world out there...
- In
1976 as the Palestine Liberation Organization and its Muslim and Druze
allies were poised to take over Lebanon, Syria received a green light from
the US and Israel to invade and put them down, strengthening the right
wing Christian militias that were rivals to the PLO.
- In
1985 Syria intervened with hijackers
holding passengers on a US airliner hostage in Lebanon to free them, and was thanked
when it succeeded by president Ronald Reagan.
- In
1989, Syria supported US and Saudi attempts to broker a deal among
Lebanon's warring factions, leading to the Taif Accords that brought the
Lebanese Civil War to an end.
- Syria
fought as an ally of the US against Iraq in the Gulf War in 1991.
- In
the 1990s, Syria attended several peace summits aimed at ending the
Israel-Palestinian struggle. Then President Hafez al-Assad accepted George
H. W. Bush's invitation to talks, and later he met with President Clinton
during the latter's diplomatic push.
- After
2001, the US sent captured al-Qaeda operatives to Syria to be tortured by
that country's secret police.
- Syrian
intelligence let the United States know when it discovered an al-Qaeda
plot to attack the US Fifth Fleet navy HQ in Bahrain.
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