Border Raid

 

Email To A Friend

Please fill in the following information and we'll email this link.

Separate multiple addresses with commas

SPONSORED BY
 

What kind of help?
We told them, as an example, that we need some technological means to control these borders: advanced telecommunications systems, night-vision goggles, things we really need to improve the situation. They never listened to our request. We have done what we can. We increased the number of our troops along the Syrian-Iraq border from a few hundred before the invasion to tens of thousands presently. This is a huge burden on us. Meanwhile, 1.5 million Iraqi refugees have crossed into Syria. If some of them are recruited by extremist or terrorist organizations, how can we control this? We did not invite them to leave their country and come into Syria. It's the United States building democracy and prosperity in Iraq that created the largest exodus in the history of the Middle East. We are also cooperating with the Iraqis themselves. We have bilateral committees on security and intelligence issues, and this raid will also jeopardize our cooperation with the Iraqis. However you look at it, this is very bad.

The United States has said in the past, 90 percent of suicide bombers in Iraq cross through Syria. How does that square with what you ' re saying about your efforts to seal the border?
Ninety-nine percent of the suicide bombers in Iraq are Iraqis. This is a fact. Now, is there 1 percent that might be coming from outside Iraq? Yes. But this does not mean we are allowing this to happen. If you think we're responsible for every outsider who penetrates these borders, I can give you lists of thousands of people we caught trying to cross these borders. We are doing everything possible to try to seal these borders, but we can't hermetically seal a desert.

Prior to this infiltration, it had looked like relations were thawing somewhat between the United States and Syria. Is that perception accurate?
Contacts with the administration had been improving in the last six months. Only a month ago, back in September in New York, Secretary [of State Condoleezza] Rice requested a meeting with her Syrian counterpart. She sat with us and said that the United States wants to engage with Syria, wants to re-evaluate its relationship with Syria. And we thought that was a very positive sign. And suddenly this raid happens out of the blue.

What is the state of Syria ' s indirect talks with Israel? The Israeli prime minister gave an interview a few weeks ago saying he understood that Israel would have to part with the Golan Heights for peace. In that case, why aren ' t the two sides closer to an agreement?
For a simple reason: this has to do with the domestic political scene in Israel. As you know, [Prime Minister Ehud] Olmert resigned. His successor failed to form a government. As far as we are concerned we had three successful meetings in Istanbul. We agreed that both parties want to have peace. The political desire for peace is there. And the principle is land for peace. The Israelis understood that in order to make peace with Syria they need to return the Golan to us. And we thought it was a very good starting point for the peace negotiations.

The United States had no role in the Turkish-brokered negotiations?
The U.S. tried in every way possible to convince the Israelis not to sit and talk to us, but they failed. They were successful at the beginning—this is what the Israelis told us. But then they decided not to heed the voice of the Bush administration and to sit down and talk with us. We are optimistic. The three rounds of talks were very successful.

Did the Israelis commit to withdrawing all the way to the line of June 4, 1967?
Olmert did say this.

In a newspaper interview or through proxies in the talks?
I'm not going to get into details. I'm only going to tell you that we are very satisfied with the three rounds of talks.

What about the Israeli demands? What did the Syrian side say about Israel ' s demands vis- à -vis Syria ' s ties with Iran and support for Hizbullah? How clear was Syria on these issues?
The Israelis know us very well. Historically, whenever we signed an agreement, we fully respected and fulfilled our obligations. On the other hand, we're not going to negotiate with Israel our relations with third countries. We're not telling the Israelis, for example, that we are unhappy with their relations with Georgia so they have to sever the relations.

Label

Newsweek Top Stories
Al Gore's Climate-Change Evolution
Al Gore's Climate-Change Evolution

Using emotion to convince people to change.

Heaven Can Wait
Heaven Can Wait

A new book promises proof of eternal life.

The World's Biggest Foods
The World's Biggest Foods

Monster edibles from around America.

Discuss

Sponsored by

Member Comments

  • Posted By: Vote Now @ 11/02/2008 6:21:41 AM

    THE GREAT BUSH DEPRESSION
    I follow an economist named Bob Proctor. He has called the top and bottom of every market crash since the 70s correctly.
    He perfectly predicted the current meltdown and the picture he paints about what will happen next
    is terrifying.He thinks it will be worse then the great depression.
    The banks in the U.S. are going under one after the other. Countrywide ,Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch , Fanny and Freddy Mae ,AIG
    The government took them over because they are bankrupt. Even with the goverment nationalizing hundreds of billions of dollars in debt the stock market is crashing
    the credit markets are frozen and all of us may suffer beyond anything seen in generations
    McCain just like Bush " doesn't understand the economy".
    That not just my opinion its his own words. Not only does he not understand how to fix it but he does not understand how its been broken.
    It is no surprise that he doesn't. The people that make up these securities use quantum mathematical models very few people understand.
    Bush and McCain both can take the credit for this mess since they helped deregulate the laws that were protecting us.
    Bush's economic advisor Phil Graham wrote the deregulation bill that allowed banks to take huge risks with all of our future.
    Now, Phil Graham is the head of McCain's economic policy.He is also McCain's choice for the next secretary of the treasury.
    No one in this country can afford for that to happen. The last time Bush met with his economic advisors was in March. He was the last to know somthing was wrong. Phil Graham had the guts to say that we are in a mental recession after he helped create the worst economy meltdown in our lifetime. Check out this link to the truth http://my.barackobama.com/keatingvideo
    It will take the best and brightest minds in the world to get us out of this nightmare. As bad as Bush has done, McCain would be
    even more destructive because things are in much worse shape. The next president will not inherit a budget surplus like Bush did but a crashing economy and a 11,600,000,000,000 (trillion) dollars deficit. Most of it Bush created and it will take decades to pay it back.
    If you do what you have always done then you will get what you have always got.
    When it comes to policy Bush and McCain are the same 90 percent of the time.
    So why are the polls even close then ?
    Mccains team just said they no longer want to talk about the economy.Instead they would like to spend time talking about obama
    which means running the biggest smear campaign in history.
    They think they can just tell you lies and you wont be smart enough to see through it
    Let's teach him we are smarter than that
    Stand up and hold them accountable
    Bush isn't on the ballot this year but his policies are
    Elect Obama Biden 2008






    Check out this video of sarah palins interview and ask your self if she understands what she is talking about.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r36Xc0GG4iQ

  • Posted By: advoidleftists @ 11/01/2008 7:33:25 PM

    Again I see this time after time people posting stuff that has nothing to do with topic at hand once again this topic about the raid on the border with syria and not what sara palin said about being VP or what toliet paper she uses so please stop obessesing about it. CIA has bad record of intelligence but again are we to sit by and allow foreign fighters to go in on daily basis and of course syria is going all out about this because they IRan best friend and both iran and syria help push iraq to the brink of collapse. So please talk about topic at hand and stop obessessing about mccain and palin over over when this topic is tottally different same thing about some topic about an african country and bunch people talking about bush this and that which had nothign to do with topic at hand.

  • Posted By: Vote Now @ 11/01/2008 7:07:42 PM

    Sarah palin when asked about becoming vp responded

    "As for that VP talk all the time, I tell you, I still can't answer that question until somebody answers for me, 'what is it exactly that the VP does every day......"

    After she had been the nominee for around 2 months she was asked again and this time said

    [T]hey???re in charge of the U.S. Senate so if they want to they can really get in there with the senators and make a lot of good policy changes that will make life better for Brandon and his family and his classroom.

    WRONG THE VP IS THERE TO STEP IN IF SOMTHING HAPPENS TO THE PRESIDENT ONLY THEY HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH POLICY AND THEY DONT RUN THE SENATE!!
    If she doenst know what the vice pres or presidant does why would we give her the job

    Mccain has around a 40 percent chance because of his age in not being able to

    complete his term picking palin was about as smart as picking any other mrs Alaska contestant.

    Its not just that we disagree with her answers in alot of cases she doesnt understand basic questions
    like what is the bush doctrine, or what do you read.
    These are not gotcha questions!!!
    One of advisors recently said not only was she unqualified but said mccain picked her after 1 interview of about a hour
    and that even at mcdonalds you get 3 interviews.
    Members of her own campaign called her a diva and a whack job.
    They would know better then anyone else right now.

    So mccain gambled and he lost big. He ended up with a girl that cant answer questions that most of the people reading this can answer.
    at the same time mccain could never read this blog because he cant use a computer at all.
    I mean his wife has 100 million dollars get him classes or something.

    Am i crazy or do we want a computer literate president and a vp who can answer a least basic questions.
    If you read the rest of the articles on this site you would think the world is about to end
    So if thats the case these are the last 2 people you want running anything.
    let send them packing.

    ELECT OBAMA BIDEN NOW

Reply

Report Abuse

Enter comments if any for reporting abuse

My Take

Customize the NEWSWEEK homepage
to feature your favorite columnists.

Customize Now