"The Syria-US relationship is likely to remain chilly for some time ..."

Via Friday-Lunch-Club

The GUARDIAN/ here

"Hopes of a rapprochement between the US and Syria have again been dashed by Washington's decision to renew, for another year, the economic sanctions Bashar al-Assad had hoped would end.

The Syrian president can hardly have been surprised. In recent weeks there has been little evidence of the "outstretched hand" Barack Obama proffered when he came to office. Nor has Damascus ticked the main boxes on Washington's wishlist. Not only has Assad failed to distance himself from Iran or loosen ties with Hamas and Hezbollah, he has also flaunted these alliances, hosting a summit with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Hassan Nasrallah....

Arabs will see the missile episode as a prelude to Obama's sanctions decision, and blame Israel. But the US president did note progress in one key area: a decrease in Syrian support for foreign fighters crossing into Iraq – traffic that, at its height, helped maintain al-Qaida suicide bombings on Shia targets.......... if Syria still poses an "unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States" – in Obama's words – and prospects remain slim for peace talks between Syria and Israel, the signs are that the slowly thawing relationship between Washington and Damascus will remain chilly for some time.

Posted by G, Z, or B at 8:55 PM

Medvedev to visit Syria

"Iskander Missile System ...'game changing' whatever?"

VOR/ here

"President Medvedev’s visit to Syria, due to take place on May 10th and 11th, should add more impetus to the rapidly developing bilateral ties. A statement to that effect was made by a Syrian government official in Damascus. President Medvedev will meet with his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad to discuss prospects for bilateral relations and the situation in the Middle East. Syria’s Economy and Trade Minister Amer Lotfi praised the growing ties with Russia. As instances of successful bilateral cooperation he cited Russia’s participation in the construction of gas-processing plants near Hims and near Deir ez-Zor... "

"Those words ‘threat to national security’ are very important ... "

"The IDF is busy fighting 'this hard war'..."

Unfounded fears if you ask me ...The National/Here

".... Another Syrian political analyst, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the wording appeared to be a prelude to war. “When the Americans attacked Iraq, they did so after saying that Saddam Hussein posed a threat to US national security. Now they are saying the same thing about Syria.

“Those words ‘threat to national security’ are very important, it means the Americans are preparing to strike or that they will give the green light to Israel to strike.”....

Economically the sanctions are of limited importance..... “We know the economy can cope under US sanctions, it is the political meaning that matters,” Mr Bilal said. “There is a significance to this. The US has been unable to shift any of the fundamental Syrian positions regarding Lebanon or Palestine, so this is probably a result of Obama feeling they have not achieved as much as he wanted with his policy of dialogue.”....

While there is concern here about Mr Obama’s firm language – even a feeling that it might have put yet another nail in the coffin of any incipient peace process – Tharbet Salim, an independent Syrian political commentator said it might, perversely, be a positive development.

“I see this as part of Obama’s balancing act with Israel,” he said. “Obama is trying to be hard on the Israelis over settlement expansion and by renewing these sanctions in this way, he can say to his critics, ‘Look, I’ve not gone soft on Syria, I’m not just hard on you.’ This gives him some cover to keep up the pressure on Israel.”...."

Posted by G, Z, or B at 1:51 PM

River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian