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American Morning
How is Syria Likely to Respond to U.S. Demands?
Aired May 05, 2003 - 07:26 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Well, actions speak louder than words, that's the message Secretary of State Colin Powell delivered to Syria over the weekend when he met with the president there, Bashar al- Assad. Powell said Syria must not support terrorist groups or harbor Iraqi fugitives.
How, then, is Syria likely to respond to the U.S. demands?
From Washington to talk about it, Flynt Leverett, formerly a senior director for Middle East affairs at the National Security Council, now with the Saban Center at the Brookings Institution.
Good morning to you.
Nice to have you with us.
FLYNT LEVERETT, SABAN CENTER AT BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: Good morning. Good to be here.
HEMMER: We are getting word that Hamas and Islamic Jihad was to close down its offices in Syria. But later there were reports that that's not happening.
Do we know the truth on the ground there?
LEVERETT: I don't think we do at this point. As you point out, the reports about the status of those offices are conflicting. I think it's fair to say that we don't know yet what, in the end, the Syrians are prepared to do with regard to these offices' status.
I suspect that the Syrians, at least in the near term, are going to do as little a they calculate they need to do in order to dissipate some of the pressure they're feeling from us right now.
HEMMER: What would be the incentive for Damascus to listen to Colin Powell and shut down Hamas and Islamic Jihad there?
LEVERETT: Well, I think we need to be clear about just what the incentives are, both in a negative sense and a positive sense. Negatively, the most extreme thing that Syrians are worried about is that we will take military action against their regime, much as we did in Iraq recently. There are obviously things we can do short of that to put pressure on their regime. We can take steps to put more pressure on their economy. There are things we could do militarily, even, covert or overt strikes against terrorist related facilities in Lebanon and Syria. On a more positive front, I think we should tell the Syrians that if they respond to our requirements, we are prepared to offer them a serious dialogue about their role in the region. Right now with Saddam gone, they are essentially surrounded by states that are allied to us -- Israel, Jordan, Turkey and now, of course, post-Saddam Iraq.
They are concerned about that. They fear diplomatic marginalization. I think if we were prepared to engage them in a serious dialogue about their role in the region, that would be a serious error (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...
HEMMER: And, Flynt, I think that is the ultimate question, is Syria willing to be a player in this, in this new Mideast order?
LEVERETT: I think that they would be, but that is conditionable -- conditional on our being consistent and our being willing to spell out to them both the positive and negative consequences of their choices.
HEMMER: Flynt Leverett, thanks for talking.
It was brief, but it has to be, given the news in the middle part of the country.
Many thanks to you.
LEVERETT: Thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired May 5, 2003 - 07:26 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Well, actions speak louder than words, that's the message Secretary of State Colin Powell delivered to Syria over the weekend when he met with the president there, Bashar al- Assad. Powell said Syria must not support terrorist groups or harbor Iraqi fugitives.
How, then, is Syria likely to respond to the U.S. demands?
From Washington to talk about it, Flynt Leverett, formerly a senior director for Middle East affairs at the National Security Council, now with the Saban Center at the Brookings Institution.
Good morning to you.
Nice to have you with us.
FLYNT LEVERETT, SABAN CENTER AT BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: Good morning. Good to be here.
HEMMER: We are getting word that Hamas and Islamic Jihad was to close down its offices in Syria. But later there were reports that that's not happening.
Do we know the truth on the ground there?
LEVERETT: I don't think we do at this point. As you point out, the reports about the status of those offices are conflicting. I think it's fair to say that we don't know yet what, in the end, the Syrians are prepared to do with regard to these offices' status.
I suspect that the Syrians, at least in the near term, are going to do as little a they calculate they need to do in order to dissipate some of the pressure they're feeling from us right now.
HEMMER: What would be the incentive for Damascus to listen to Colin Powell and shut down Hamas and Islamic Jihad there?
LEVERETT: Well, I think we need to be clear about just what the incentives are, both in a negative sense and a positive sense. Negatively, the most extreme thing that Syrians are worried about is that we will take military action against their regime, much as we did in Iraq recently. There are obviously things we can do short of that to put pressure on their regime. We can take steps to put more pressure on their economy. There are things we could do militarily, even, covert or overt strikes against terrorist related facilities in Lebanon and Syria. On a more positive front, I think we should tell the Syrians that if they respond to our requirements, we are prepared to offer them a serious dialogue about their role in the region. Right now with Saddam gone, they are essentially surrounded by states that are allied to us -- Israel, Jordan, Turkey and now, of course, post-Saddam Iraq.
They are concerned about that. They fear diplomatic marginalization. I think if we were prepared to engage them in a serious dialogue about their role in the region, that would be a serious error (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...
HEMMER: And, Flynt, I think that is the ultimate question, is Syria willing to be a player in this, in this new Mideast order?
LEVERETT: I think that they would be, but that is conditionable -- conditional on our being consistent and our being willing to spell out to them both the positive and negative consequences of their choices.
HEMMER: Flynt Leverett, thanks for talking.
It was brief, but it has to be, given the news in the middle part of the country.
Many thanks to you.
LEVERETT: Thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
