Syrian Sponsorship of Terror
The following is excerpted from an OpEd piece by JINSA Executive Director Tom Neumann.
It is a tribute to the hypocrisy and duplicity of the UN that Syria assumed the Presidency of the Security Council for the month of June. After passing numerous resolutions condemning terrorism in the strongest possible terms, the Security Council conferred its highest office upon one of the world’s best-known state sponsors of terrorism.
The following is excerpted from an OpEd piece by JINSA Executive Director Tom Neumann.
It is a tribute to the hypocrisy and duplicity of the UN that Syria assumed the Presidency of the Security Council for the month of June. After passing numerous resolutions condemning terrorism in the strongest possible terms, the Security Council conferred its highest office upon one of the world’s best-known state sponsors of terrorism.
The June 5th terrorist attack on an Israeli bus, which killed 17 people and injured more than 40, confirmed the absurdity – Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the bombing from its headquarters in Syria’s capital, Damascus!
This is only the latest example of Syrian involvement with terrorism. Syria has pursued a strategic partnership with terrorist organizations and continues to be on the State Department’s list of states that sponsor terrorism. Damascus serves as a safe haven and transit point for Hezbollah, Hamas, and the PFLP, and aids them in their political, organizational, propaganda, and operational activities. Syria continues to occupy its neighbor Lebanon with thousands of troops and has enabled Hezbollah to use southern Lebanon as a launching pad against Israel. Allowing Iran to continue transporting arms to terrorist groups in Lebanon through his territory, Syrian strongman Bashar Assad has ensured a destabilized Middle East. Recently Syria has begun supplying large supplies of heavy weapons to Hizbollah directly, including thousands of katyusha rockets that can strike deep into Israel.
Syria has contributed to the atmosphere of hatred and intolerance in the region. During a visit by Pope John Paul last year, Assad said the Jews had persecuted Jesus and the prophet Mohammed. During a television interview, Syrian Defense Minister Mustafa Tlass said that if an Arab killed every Jew he or she saw, the Arab-Israeli conflict would be solved. Syrian schools and state-controlled media promote anti-Semitism and violence against Jews.
True, there is no immediate threat to the US from Syria, and other more dangerous regimes (Iraq) must be dealt with. Ignoring Syria, though, would be a mistake. While fighting terrorists in Afghanistan, Pakistan, the Philippines, Yemen and Georgia, and in addition to branding Iraq, Iran, and North Korea an “Axis of Evil,” the United States must put real pressure on Syria.
The world has seen, through Islamic Jihad suicide bombings and Hezbollah rocket attacks, how quickly the Middle East can move toward full-scale war. If Israel (justifiably) retaliated against Syria for involvement in a major terrorist attack, other states could be drawn in and the region could erupt. Such a development would bolster radical forces and complicate America’s efforts to undermine Saddam’s regime. The United States can help prevent this scenario making it clear to Damascus just what the economic, political, and military fallout will be for continued Syrian sponsorship of terror.
In his State of the Union address, President Bush drew a line in the sand: “Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists.” He said it was time for nations to choose. Syria has chosen.