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'We are not enemies,' diplomat says of Syrian-U.S. relations
The Grand Rapids Press
GRAND RAPIDS -- Friend or foe, keeping an open dialogue with Syria has been helpful to the United States in the past and almost certainly will be necessary in the future, according to
the Syrian ambassador to the U.S., Imad Moustapha, who is slated to speak Monday in Grand Rapids.
Moustapha said his country is frustrated it continues to appear on a State Department list of unfriendly nations who
support terrorism, despite a history of cooperation he said has saved American lives. He added he doesn't consider the two nations enemies despite hard-line rhetoric from President Bush's administration.
"It has not
been easy for us in the past four or five years, despite our attempts to convince the administration that continued discussions with us are beneficial to both sides," Moustapha said. "We work with the United States on
any number of issues.
"Our troops fought together with your troops after Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait and, after the Sept. 11 attacks, we provided the United States with a wealth of important, actionable
intelligence about al-Qaida that saved American lives."
Moustapha is scheduled to speak at 6 p.m. Monday in the Aquinas College Performing Arts Center as part of the World Affairs Council's Great Decisions Foreign
Policy Lecture Series. His lecture is entitled "U.S., Syria and the New Middle East: Confrontation or Cooperation?"
Organizers expect the lecture to be controversial, but hope those attending will be
enlightened to the benefits of diplomacy.
They acknowledge relations between the two countries have been complex and strained at times largely because of suspicions that Syria harbors and has given aid to terrorists.
The complexities are evidenced in Syria's 20-year battle against al-Qaida while openly supporting Hezbollah, the Islamic group formed after the Israeli takeover of Lebanon in the early 1980s. Moustapha said the future of
Middle East peace depends on constructive engagement, even among countries with serious differences.
"We are not enemies," he said. "We do not understand why the administration continues to portray Syria
as an enemy of the United States.
"We believe that peace in the Middle East cannot be achieved without the participation of Syria, so to engage in ideological arguments portraying Syria as an enemy is not even in
the United States' long-term interests."
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