Middle East Terrorism: A Muddled Scorecard

By Reese Erlich, AlterNet. Posted July 8, 2003.

Damascus, Syria -- The U.S. invasion of Iraq was supposed to stop the "terrorists" dead in their tracks, or at least slow 'em down. After a trip through the Middle East, it became obvious to me that the Iraq war is having an effect opposite to what Team Bush intended. "Ali Ahmed," an Arab diplomat who prefers to remain anonymous says, "The Bush administration looks quite powerful on the surface, but so did the Romans near the end of their empire."

Sure, the Bush plan looked good at first blush. On May 1, Bush landed on the aircraft carrier off the coast of San Diego and declared, "We do not know the day of final victory, but we have seen the turning of the tide. No act of the terrorists will change our purpose, or weaken our resolve, or alter their fate. Their cause is lost." Soon his envoys fanned out, like so many little Darth Vaders, to deliver the empire's message to the "agents of terror" in the Middle East.

But who are these so-called terrorist groups/states and are they listening?

First Stop: Syria

In language almost identical to the pre-war harangues about Iraq, Colin Powell accused Syria in the immediate aftermath of the Iraq war of harboring terrorists and hoarding weapons of mass destruction.

It's true, say the experts, that for many years Syria has maintained a small stockpile of chemical weapons -- most likely poison gas -- as a poor man's defense against possible Israeli attack. No one has charged, let alone proven, any intent on Syria's part to use its arsenal as an offensive measure.

The charge of supporting terrorism, which conjures up visions of bearded Al Qaeda fanatics attacking U.S. landmarks, is equally misleading. Haithem Kelani, a former Syrian ambassador to the UN, says that the U.S. intentionally blurs the definition of terrorism, using it as a synonym for the Al Qaeda. According to Kelani, Syria has always opposed the terrorism of right-wing Islamist groups such as Al-Qaeda and the Taliban. Their views, he says, "represent backwardness."

However, Syria defends Palestinian armed attacks on Israeli troops and settlers, and doesn't consider such acts to constitute terrorism. Historically, Syria backed the leftist opposition to Yasir Arafat within the PLO. When Islamist groups eclipsed the left within the Palestinian movement some years back, Syria offered some support to groups such as the Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

Scorecard: In response to U.S. pressure, Syria has sealed its border with Iraq to prevent arms and fighters from entering the country, and it cracked down on open political activity by Palestinian groups in Syria. But it hasn't fully closed the Palestinian offices, eliminated its chemical weapons or otherwise met U.S. demands. In short, U.S. rhetoric is sufficiently intimidating to ensure caution but it has not accomplished much by way of concrete changes -- especially since the situation in postwar Iraq continues to deteriorate. "With the U.S. now preoccupied with fighting in Iraq," says Ahmed, "the Syrians know the U.S. has a harder time putting pressure on neighboring countries."

Second Stop: The Hamas, Palestine

The Bush Administration's bogeyman of the week is Hamas. In recent trips to Israel, both Colin Powell and Condi Rice demanded that the Palestinian Authority dismantle the organization and arrest its leaders. Hamas, and its lesser cousin, Islamic Jihad, represent the right-wing, fervently religious segment of the Palestinian movement. They want Palestine to become an Islamic state and use Islam to justify terrorist attacks on Israeli civilians.

But while these groups are respected in the Arab world because of their militant opposition to Israel, their suicide bombings against Israeli civilians remain highly controversial. Some in the Arab world condemn the bombings as morally wrong and politically counterproductive. Hisham Dijani, a Palestinian human rights activist in Damascus, says that Hamas hasn't "achieved anything important except killing people -- our people and their people. They have to fight the Israelis inside the occupied territories, not inside Israel, not in Tel Aviv."

But others I spoke with justify the suicide bombings inside Israel as desperate measures against an enemy who kills Palestinian civilians. Hashem Akkad, a member of Syria's National Assembly, told me, "We do not support such operations, but we understand why these people do this. They don't have any alternative."

But for the most part, both Hamas and Islamic Jihad represent a small minority of Palestinians. That is why both groups succumbed to pressure from the Palestinian Authority and agreed to a three-month ceasefire with Israel.

Liked this story? Get top stories in your inbox each week from AlterNet! Sign up now »