Word: assad
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SYRIA: The toughest guys at the talks. Although English-speaking Foreign Minister Farouk al-Sharaa is the front man, make no mistake: President Hafez Assad will be calling the shots -- and the other Arabs will listen...
Syria: The most truculent -- wants Israel to cede "every inch of Arab land occupied by the Israelis by war and force," particularly the Golan Heights, in return for a state of nonbelligerency. Damascus refuses to participate in regional talks until Israel demonstrates a willingness to return occupied territory. Assad has vowed to strike no separate deals with Israel, and is exhorting other Arab delegations to take the same position...
Whether the Palestinian delegation brings good will is harder to know. Assad is a dictator. Listen to him and hear the Syrian line. The Palestinians, however, bring a fragmented team to Madrid. Some, like newspaper editor Sari Nussiebah, say that the conference is less an opportunity to talk with the Israelis than a chance to rally the world against Israel. Other members of the Palestinian team declare in almost every public forum that they represent the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), knowing that Israel has promised to abandon the conference if the PLO participates...
...forgotten that this conference exists only because the United States twisted lots of arms. Assad does not want to make peace with Israel, but, with the disintegration of the Soviet Union, he needs a new patron to prop up his dictatorship, and America has made this conference a condition for assuming that role...
Perhaps someone will rise to history's challenge in Madrid, propose a bold new plan, show willingness to compromise, and the Nobel committee can start writing invitations to Shamir, Assad and Arafat. At this point, however, we couldn't even know whether Assad would shake Shamir's hand at the award ceremony...