PRESIDENT ASAD AND CODEL CARDIN DISCUSS A NUCLEAR IRAN, PEACE PROCESS, TERRORISM, AND HUMAN RIGHTS

Ein Treffen von Assad mit amerikanischen Diplomaten, die Themen stehen schon in der Überschrift: Irans Nuklearprogramm, der Friedensprozess, Terrorismus, Menschenrechte. Wiederum eine lange, aber lesenswerte Depesche. Zunächst die Zusammenfassung:

CODEL Cardin, in a February 18 meeting with President Bashar al-Asad, FM Muallim, Presidential Advisor for Political and Media Affairs Shaaban, and Ambassador to the U.S. Mustafa conveyed U.S. concerns regarding Iran's pursuit of a nuclear weapon, Syrian human rights abuses, the Israel-Syria peace process, upcoming Lebanese elections, and Syrian support for terrorism. Senator Cardin encouraged the SARG to address these issues in order to lay the groundwork for a more productive future dialogue. Asad argued Syria essentially shared the same position as the U.S. on the majority of these issues, but Syria's approach toward solving these problems was clearly different. Asad said the U.S. needed to look at the larger regional political picture, as Syria did, if it truly wanted to find satisfactory resolutions. On Iran, Asad maintained IAEA monitoring would ensure Iran's pursuit of nuclear power for civilian purposes only. Regarding human rights, Asad stated Syria was making progress, but the CODEL needed to understand this issue in the larger context of Israel's aggression in Gaza, the suffering of Palestinian refugees, and terrorist attacks on Syria. Asad rejected the notion that Syria facilitated the transit of foreign fighters into Iraq, pointedly asking the CODEL what interest would he have in doing so? The upcoming elections in Lebanon, Asad surmised, would not change the composition of the government dramatically nor Syria's determination to continue the process of establishing a full diplomatic presence in Beirut. On future Israel-Syria peace negotiations, Asad was more vague. He offered no specifics on re-opening talks, but expressed Syria's desire for the process to continue with U.S. involvement. Finally, in response to the CODEL's repeated concerns about Syrian support for Hamas and Hizballah, Asad remarked that these were democratically elected organizations in the Palestinian Authority and Lebanon; dealing with them was simply part of the reality of politics in the Middle East.

Die interessantesten Passagen, mitunter wieder recht unterhaltsam, habe ich hier mal rausgesucht:

[..]a warm exchange of pleasantries in which Senator Cardin thanked Asad for sending Imad Mustafa to the U.S. as Syria's Ambassador ("He's in our offices so much we've thought of charging him rent!")

Ein bisschen Spaß muss sein...

Senator Cardin told Asad he could give specific examples of citizens jailed for their political views. Asad responded, "we are a country in process of reform. We aren't perfect. You are talking about 12 people out of 20 million. It's a process. We are moving forward, not fast, but methodically."

Z-w-ö-l-f? Pro Zelle oder was?

Senator Cardin argued that "when the U.S. is challenged, you see it on the front page of the newspaper" and that such challenges were an important part of a national dialogue. "You do not see this (freedom of expression) anywhere in the region," Asad chuckled in reply, "let's talk about Saudi Arabia."

Die Amis loben ihre Pressefreiheit und schieben den schwarzen Peter zu Assad. Der schiebt ihn zu den Saudis. Und die? Na die hätten ja noch Nordkorea zum Weiterreichen. Und da das den Nordkoreanern wohl ziemlich egal wäre, könnte er dann dort bleiben.

In a final bid to put the subject of human rights to rest, Asad stated he was a popular president and that if he were working against his people, he would not enjoy such popularity.

Das lasse ich jetzt mal kommentarlos so stehen. Schließlich liebe ich doch *meinen* Präsidenten ;).

Asad noted an Iranian nuclear strike against Israel would result in massive Palestinian casualties, which Iran would never risk.

Da wäre ich mir mal nicht so sicher...

"The ability of the international community to monitor Iran on NPT [Non Proliferation Treaty] is understood. It's the role of the [Iranian] proxies [Hamas and Hizbullah] that is the problem," she said. Asad replied, "if you don't trust the mechanisms of the NPT, let's cancel it."

So kann man doch kein vernünftiges Gespräch führen.

He added "we know who and when [to send to Lebanon as ambassador], but we're not going to announce it today." Senator Wicker deftly rejoined "we could make news!" eliciting laughter from everyone, including Asad.

Offenbar muss jeder Lacher ins Protokoll aufgenommen werden.

Asad responded Syria had been in negotiations with Israel with no concern for Iran's opinion. He told the story of how Iranian President Ahmedinejad called him just before the Annapolis conference and implored him not to send anyone, that it was a "bad meeting," but that they sent a representative anyway.

So, da muss Syrien also den USA beweisen, wie unabhängig vom Iran man ist... überzeugt?

Asad said Syria wanted to know when the U.S. would adopt a new approach toward terrorism, adding that "it's not a question of how much you can destroy, but how much dialogue you can make."

Das klingt doch sogar ganz vernünftig, nur irgendwer muss halt den Anfang machen, sonst gibt es keinen Dialog sondern nur gemeinsames Schweigen.

The Europeans, Asad continued, knew more about the region than the U.S. and he urged the CODEL to turn to them for guidance.

Interessant.

"Can you stop the immigration of Mexicans into the U.S.? No. All borders are porous. There is no army on the [Syrian-Iraqian] border; you don't have soldiers on the border. Do your homework. My job is to protect my people, not your soldiers.[...]

Insgesamt ein recht selbstbewusstes Auftreten, das Assad gegenüber den Amis an den Tag legt.

Vorige Nächste

Update 07.12.2010, 23:52: Auf erreichbaren Link umgeleitet