Report: Cheney was involved in secret Israel-Syria talks

[sabra]

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/814534.html

U.S. officials: Cheney was kept in the loop on Israel-Syria talks

Senior American government officials received regular reports of the secret meetings that took place in Europe between a former Israeli official and a Syrian representative, Haaretz has learned.

Senior officials in Washington told Haaretz that U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney was kept in the picture about these indirect talks between Syria and Israel.

Ibrahim (Ayeb) Suleiman, the Syrian representative, also said this at his meetings with former Foreign Ministry director general Alon Liel, adding that Cheney had made no move to stop him from participating in the talks. Suleiman is a Washington resident.

A document that Dr. Nimrod Novik, a former political advisor to Vice Premier Shimon Peres, disseminated last October to members of the Council for Peace and Security also said that Washington knew about the talks. "While the administration is taking care not to broadcast a U-turn in its approach as long as the president has not given it an explicit green light, the signs of a change in direction are multiplying," Novik wrote.

"During the fighting in Lebanon, former senior (U.S.) officials were authorized to speak with Damascus, within a narrow mandate, while Pentagon and State Department officials support a change in the policy toward Hamas and quote the president in this context."

[acmavm]

1. Just more evidence that bush** is only good for bicycle riding

and fronting for these criminals.

[Brashgordon]

2. comment

And of course....his "Fuck You" attitude kept everyone from doubting his credibility ...


The Christian right....just "Forgave" him...and marched on ....


Send a few more "pages" over to the hotel ... and keep smiling ...

[newyawker99]

10. Hi Brashgordon!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[mzmolly]

3. No wonder nothing was solved.

This cabal doesn't want peace in the middle-east.

[sabra]

4. everything leads to Cheney

[cool user name]

5. Potentially, this is a good sign ...

Aside from having a doctor with "Nimrod" for a name, this could go well. My only concern is closing the Syrian track leaves the Palestinian with way less leverage with which to negotiate. Barak wanted to use this strategy, as well as Martin Indyk who helped in negotiating the "generous offer."

But this is still very positive.

Of course, the Syrian paper follows with this:


Syrian paper: Peace requires withdrawal from Golan, not secret talks
Peace with Syria requires an Israeli commitment to surrender the strategic Golan Heights and cannot be achieved through secret negotiations, a Syrian state newspaper said Wednesday in response to the Haaretz report.

Syria's official Al-Thawra newspaper said in an editorial Wednesday that the Haaretz report was false, and added that "peace cannot be achieved in the darkness of secret negotiations."

Peace requires an Israeli commitment to surrender the whole of the Golan Heights, the paper said. It indicated the current Israeli government was too "immature" for peacemaking.

Which makes me cynical again. I mean, come on, Syria! How do you get Israel to do that? By negotiations! That was irresponsible of them to do that - not sure who gave the go ahead to out that story.

:eyes:

[sabra]

6. yes, the underlying report of talks is a good thing. That Cheney was involved

is not...

[cool user name]

7. Of course, that's what I meant. Sorry, I wasn't clear on that.

:hi:

Mea Culpa

[librechik]

8. backchannels--good to know they are up and running

altho, with Cheney running them, it can't be that good...

[PATRICK]

9. Neutralizing all Sunni states

in the coming hit against Shiite Iran. It sounds ridiculous and insulting but there are degrees of keeping the entire Arab world from violently uprising against the "Iran Plan". In the case of immediate self interest it too often works with poor leaders who won't worry about the long term consequences of playing the game. They may even actually buy into some of the lies that it won't happen to them.