Word: syria
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...White House greeted the Commission's report in December with something like gritted teeth - and then proceeded to largely ignore it. More recently, the Bush team has quietly picked up on some of the Commission's most controversial diplomatic ideas, such as talking to Syria and Iran. Alexander and Colorado Democrat Ken Salazar see their measure as a way to both help the White House find a path out of the wilderness and build bipartisan support for its trouble...
...Syrians "typically use those sorts of events to try to say, oh, look, no problem." Damascus, he added, had used pictures of President Bashar Assad meeting with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to suggest, at least to casual viewers throughout the Muslim world, that relations between the U.S. and Syria were normalizing...
...Iraq crisis. But apart from forgiving some loans dating from Saddam Hussein's rule, they have been reluctant to take further steps, such as giving strong political backing to al-Maliki's government, using their influence with Iraqi Sunni leaders to halt the insurgency and, in the case of Syria, to stem the flow of insurgents from Syria into Iraq...
...Neighborly cooperation is further complicated by a host of side issues. The Syrian regime is doing less than it could to hinder Iraqi insurgents using Syria as a logistical base, so long as the U.S. continues to squeeze Syria on other fronts. Similarly, Iran, facing a U.S. campaign to strengthen U.N. sanctions over its nuclear program, sees Iraq as a venue to pursue its rivalry with the U.S. for regional influence...
...Olmert, meanwhile, could be tempted to try to shift attention away from past mistakes by pursuing a breakthrough in negotiations with the Palestinians, or even with Syria - or, conversely, by taking action against Iran, although Olmert has toned down his statements on this front and emphasized diplomacy as the solution to the standoff over Tehran's nuclear program. But given the level of public confidence in his ability to protect Israel's national security, he may not be given the latitude to make any dramatic moves...