Word: syrian
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...Bush Administration has explained its alliance with brutal Syrian dictator Hafez Assad as a move to bolster the Arab coalition against Iraq. But government sources have disclosed that the U.S. forged an opening to Syria more than nine months before the invasion of Kuwait. The quiet initiative began with a letter from President Bush delivered to Assad by special envoy Vernon Walters in 1989. The Administration then reached an understanding with the Syrians that Damascus would not obstruct U.S.-sponsored peace talks between Israeli officials and Palestinians. In return, Walters pledged that Washington would tolerate Assad's strengthening...
...before the occupation. In addition to Shi'ite Muslims opposed to the Emir, these include members of Arafat's Fatah guerrilla organization and Hamas, a more extreme Palestinian group that has been a key participant in the intifadeh in the Israeli-occupied areas. In addition, Ahmed Jibril's pro-Syrian Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command has detonated car bombs at Iraqi targets in Kuwait City...
Assad's contibution to the war effort has been minimal at best, and there is little likelihood that Syrian troops will see significant combat against the Iraqis...
Assad's regime is also known to be the world's principal sponsor of terrorism. Attacks that have been linked to Syrian groups include the 1980 killing of the Jordanian prime minister, the 1982 assasination of President Gemayel of Lebanon, the 1983 attacks on the U.S. Embassy and U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut, the 1986 attempt to blow up an E1 A1 airliner in London and the 1988 bombing of Pan Am 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland...
...ignored are the 35 forms of torture used in Syrian prisons that have been documented by Amnesty International. Methods such as the Black Slave, the Washing Machine and the Syrian Chair are among the most horrific techniques known...