Word: assad
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...catalog of Assad's atrocities goes back far, highlighted by the 1982 massacre of 20,000 of his own people in the rebellious town of Hama. But put that aside. Put aside the fact that Damascus is headquarters for a dozen terrorist groups, principal Arab supporter of Iran, controller of Lebanon's Hizballah terrorists (who last month launched rockets into Israel in support of the bus bombing that killed 23 people...
Problem is, it didn't. There is not a shred of evidence, despite the defensive protestations of Administration officials, that Assad moved or that Clinton got anything at all for this investment of American prestige. The only clear return was to Assad, in the coin of international legitimacy and respectability...
...Clinton, and their heartfelt words bespoke an authentic friendship and respect. That heady afternoon built expectations of more good news; Israel especially hoped the President could find a way to speed up its glacial negotiations over the Golan Heights. But Clinton immediately ran up against Syria's President Hafez Assad...
Before going to Damascus to meet Assad, Clinton warned there would be no "dramatic breakthrough," explaining carefully that he hoped only to give the stalled negotiations a push forward. After his four hours of talks, Clinton claimed he had done that -- at least in private. "We've made some progress today," he said, "the details of which I'm not at liberty to discuss." Though evidence of such progress was scant, Rabin politely agreed there was some. Syrians and Israelis alike told Clinton they wanted peace and would work to achieve it. That was slightly promising and probably about...
...public statement condemning the recent wave of terror attacks on Israel. When Arafat was later asked whether he backed peace or the extremists of Hamas, he duly said, "My choice is the peace, the peace of the brave." Clinton also asked Mubarak about the best approaches to use with Assad, and Mubarak later phoned Damascus to lay the groundwork for Clinton's arrival. "It's not just intelligence Mubarak provides," said a U.S. official. "It's insight...