WASHINGTON - Syria, a pivotal player in the Middle East for decades, looms as a possible spoiler in President's Bush's strategy for halting Israeli-Palestinian violence and toppling the Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein.
Syria has backed Palestinian radicals and allowed weapons to flow to Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon, posing what an Israeli diplomat calls "the single greatest threat to regional stability in the immediate term."
In addition, U.S. officials say, Damascus has developed closer ties to Baghdad, allowing Iraq to smuggle out oil and allowing frequent air travel and shipments to Iraq in violation of United Nations sanctions.
In the past, Syria has often positioned itself to exploit Middle East tensions in a way that enhances its influence. Under the late Hafez Assad, Syria became an ally in the U.S.-led war to drive Iraqi forces from Kuwait in 1991. Later that year, Assad agreed to open direct peace talks with Israel. This allowed the United States to achieve a breakthrough in staging a peace conference in Madrid.
But Syria, now ruled by Assad's enigmatic son, Bashar, is sending mixed signals about its intentions as Bush prepares to make his boldest proposal to date to try to restore regional stability.
Bush is expected to unveil a Middle East peace plan this week that would include a provisional Palestinian state, on the condition that it undergo reforms and provide assurances that it would coexist peacefully with Israel.
Syria, which wants to reclaim the Golan Heights from Israel, stands to play a crucial role in a new Arab-Israeli peace initiative. With its influence among radical groups in the region, Syria could help U.S. allies Egypt and Saudi Arabia steer Palestinians away from violence against Israelis and toward cooperating with the United States in reviving the shattered peace process.
"Given Syria's strategic role in the region, there will not be a comprehensive peace without Syria coming on board," said Edward Djerejian, a former U.S. ambassador to Syria, now director of the Baker Institute for Public Policy at Rice University.
Calming Israeli-Palestinian violence is widely seen as key to Bush's longer-term strategy of toppling Hussein's regime in Iraq. Bush wants to prevent a hostile government from producing nuclear weapons or making them available to terrorists.
