Golan is an occupied territory that has to returned to Syria according to the International law and UN resolutions. The Settlers have to end their illegal presence on the Syrian land. They have to turn back this stolen land to the native Syrians, more than a million Refugees in Damascus alone. Justice is the price for Peace.
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Obama Should Talk To Syria Now
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Israel's security could be further buttressed by demilitarizing the territory returned to Syria. Technology could provide early-warning systems. Peacekeepers (possibly American) could be stationed there, much as they are in the Sinai to buttress the peace between Israel and Egypt. And the Syrian leadership is sufficiently strong that it could live up to security commitments, something the weak and divided Palestinian leadership could not.
There is one other incentive for Israel to compromise: Syria is in a unique position to influence Palestinian politics. Damascus is a base for Hamas, and the Syrians provide the group with support. It is possible that Syria's desire to normalize relations with the United States and the moderate Arab states—to enter the World Trade Organization, get out from under U.S. sanctions and gain Arab economic aid—could lead it to rein in its support for Hamas.
Any accord between Israel and Syria would require a push from the outside. Turkey has been hosting talks between the two countries, but it cannot succeed on its own. The United States needs to become a participant. For much of the administration of George W. Bush, Syria was treated as a de facto member of the Axis of Evil. It was heavily sanctioned. (No U.S. ambassador has been resident for four years.) But not talking to Syria has weakened U.S. influence, not the standing of the government in Damascus. Last week Syria's ambassador to Washington, Imad Moustapha, met with Acting Assistant Secretary of State Jeffrey Feltman. This is a step in the right direction.
It may be difficult to make peace with Syria, but it will be all but impossible to make peace in the region without it. President Obama correctly views dialogue as a tool, not a reward. It is time to put the tool to use, and to see what can be built.
Haass, a NEWSWEEK contributor and president of the Council on Foreign Relations, is also the author of “War of Necessity, War of Choice: A Memoir of Two Iraq Wars,” to be published this May.
© 2009
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