US’ Syria raid hurts W Asia peace deal

NEW DELHI: The strategy of hot pursuit of the enemy, perfected by Israel against the Palestinians is now being replicated by US forces not just in the border areas of Pakistan but in Syria as well.

On Sunday, US helicopters flew across the Iraqi border nearly five kilometres in to a Syrian border town and killed eight people, all of them civilians. US army however says the target was a Iraqi smuggler who provided arms and helped Islamic jihadis fighters cross over to join the anti government forces. They claim that the mission inside Syria succeeded in getting their target. What the military did not clarify were the other deaths in the attack.

Syrian foreign minister had called this a terrorist attack by US forces. The timing of the attack has surprised experts coming at as it does when it is widely acknowledged that Damascus has sent in additional forces to ensure that the border with Iraq is better guarded. The troops have been moved in from the Israeli side of the border.

Last month, Iraq's president Jalal Talabani acknowledged to President Bush that Syria was no longer a problem. One reason for this is that Damascus does not want either the Al Qaeda or Islamic militants to operate in its territory. A recent car bomb explosion in Damascus had the authorities extremely worried.

The US attack is likely to slow down Syria's attempts to come out of its isolation and play a more active role in the region. In fact, after years of refusing to have any contact with Syria, the Bush administration had begun to realise the futility of such a move and on September 28, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice confirmed she had met her Syrian counterpart, Walid Muallem, to discuss peace efforts in the region. It was Rice's second meeting with Muallem.

President Bush had once dubbed Syria together with Iran and North Korea as the "axis of evil". But influential sections in America did not agree with Bush. Democrats, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, questioned the wisdom of such a policy and flew to Damascus in 2007 for a meeting with President Basher Assad.

The Bush administration's best efforts to isolate Damascus has found few takers even outside US. French President Nicholas Sarkozy has made an official visit and Syria is very much a part of his Mediterranean initiative.

Syria has begun negotiation with Israel, with Turkey acting as mediator, and the two sides were hoping for direct talks next year. Syria is pitching for a return of the Golan Heights which is now occupied by Israel.

In recent months, Syrian president Assad had been making deft diplomatic moves. After decades of animosity, Iraq and Syria established diplomatic contact. Damascus and Beirut have also re-established links broken after the assassination of former Lebanese PM. Assad wants to play a pivotal role in the region and  more governments, including influential sections within the US realise peace in the middle-east can be best achieved with Syria on board.

But the resignation of Ehud Olmert and fresh elections in Israel has slowed the process. Former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is hoping to stage a political comeback. If that happens, it will spell disaster for normalising relations with Syria.

The silver lining for Syria is that Bush's term is coming to an end. There is hope that a Democratic administration could be more inclined to improve ties with Damascus, mainly because of the growing realisation that without Syria's involvement, peace in West Asia would be that much more difficult.