Syria Fighting Terrorism?

Submitted by Kenneth Labowe (United States), Aug 4, 2006 at 15:01

In the article written by Imad Moustapha, Syrian Ambassador to the U.S., appearing in today's L.A. Times Opinion section, Mr. Moustapha claims that Syria has been helping the U.S. to fight terrorism since the 9/11 attacks, as follows:

"After Sept. 11, we cooperated with the U.S. in fighting terrorism. Syria had been fighting extreme fundamentalist movements in the region for the previous three decades, so we promptly initiated intelligence and security cooperation with the U.S., providing a wealth of information about Al Qaeda, some of which was described in a letter to Congress by former Secretary of State Colin Powell as "actionable information" that led to "saving American lives."

Is this man serious? Does he really expect anyone to believe that Syria has helped to stem global terror when Hamas, the PFLP, and Hizbollah operate freely from their territory. Not to mention Syria's role in allowing Iran to arm and re-arm Hizbollah in the current war with Israel.

I would appreciate your comments, Dr. Pipes, on the article.

The complete article link is:

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-moustapha4aug04,0,3646265.story?coll=la-news-comment-opinions

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Daniel Pipes replies:

Right after 9/11, the Syrians did cooperate but that was to a limited degree and long ago.