Syria

Both GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney and former governor Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. appear to be totally ignorant of the complexities of the Middle East in the 21st century, and, indeed, of U.S. history in general ("The Obama doctrine: Passivity where leadership is needed," Oct. 14). In the 1980s, pursuing a "contain the USSR at any cost" policy, we armed and trained the Afghan insurgents fighting Soviet occupation. These "freedom fighters," we now know, were the Taliban, who perpetrated some of the most horrific cultural and humanitarian crimes of the late 20th century and enabled the rise of al-Qaeda, which was responsible for the deaths of over 3,000 Americans on 9/11 and continues to kill American soldiers in Afghanistan.

In Hillary Clinton's farewell remarks in February on stepping down as President Barack Obama's secretary of state, she echoed one of her predecessors, Madeleine Albright, declaring America to be "the indispensable nation. " "We are the force for progress, prosperity and peace," Mrs. Clinton elaborated. "And because we have to get it right for ourselves. " Ms. Albright had put it this way: "If we have to use force, it is because we are America. We are the indispensable nation.

The recent news of the cease fire in Syria met with a "ho-hum," skeptical and less-than-enthusiastic reaction ("Shaky cease-fire starts in Syria," April 13). I was stunned. Can't we rejoice for the moment over the historic change in a method based on reason and wise counsel to alleviate a violent situation? We see in Syria's cease-fire the results of a committed dialogue from the U.N. and Arab League. I believe the cease fire of today event holds great hope for mankind. Cassandra S. Naylor, Stevenson

Your report on the Israeli strike on missiles in Syria bound for Hezbollah shows how the warmongering nation of Israel continues to use the billions of dollars in military aid it receives from the U.S. every year to wage war against its neighbors - for which we get the blame ("Israel defends strikes in Syria," May 6). Israel has bombed not only Syria, but also Lebanon and Gaza twice, while threatening Iran on a daily basis. In addition, Israel brutally occupies the Palestinians, stealing their land and water.

Lebanon no longer stands between them. The PLO is suddenly if temporarily negligible. Iraq is reduced and out of the way. Jordan is a docile follower of the wind. Israel and Syria have drawn much closer together. Whether in peace or in war is for them to work out.Syria looms larger in Arab counsels after the gulf war, becoming the single Arab state that can make peace talks occur or not. Syria and Israel both agree to negotiations, each on terms that it is assured the other will refuse. They share a common understanding that the United Nations is stacked against Israel and would add weight leaning on Israel for concessions.

DAMASCUS, Syria - Since 1974, Syria has persisted in the same conditions for a peace agreement with Israel: The return of all Arab land occupied in 1967 and an equitable solution to the Palestinian refugee problem. Despite the region's new strategic environment, this position is not about to change, and Syria remains on the sidelines in the U.S.-led efforts to promote the "road map" to peace. Those in Washington who wish to use the new regional situation to reshape the Middle East see Syria as a primary obstacle.

I agree with your reader who lamented the excessive coverage the Morgan State University student accused of cannibalism ("Less cannibalism coverage," June 8). But I take a different stance on the reporting of U.S. military deaths in Afghanistan. When we withdraw our troops from that country, our casualties will cease. As for protecting our "freedoms" by battling the Taliban, our domestic tranquillity is threatened far more by the violence in our cities, where the annual number of fatalities greatly exceeds the total of those killed in Afghanistan.

Since President Hafez el Assad of Syria cannot go first in making peace with Israel, his choice is between going last or not at all. He is making the most of it.Mr. Assad joined the formal Middle East peace negotiations but denounced the secret agreement between Israel and the PLO and the talks between Israel and Jordan. Now, those who want the process completed must go to Mr. Assad, as must those who want it thwarted.Secretary of State Warren Christopher has made the journey, and orchestrated a series of gestures by Syria toward Israel and by the United States toward Syria that prepare the way for a serious negotiation.

Syria is on a voyage in foreign policy. The direction is right, though the destination is not in view. The dictator Hafez el Assad was quicker than others to appreciate the sea change in Moscow's foreign policy: The end of Soviet support for Syria's four wars against Israel, for Syria's sponsorship of terrorism and for Syria's anti-Western rhetoric made that policy untenable. He would change it, coexist with the West and become a moderate.Syria has ended hospitality for terrorists, who promptly removed to Baghdad.

WASHINGTON -- Reports from Syria indicate that President Bashar Assad is engaged in a systematic crackdown on his opposition. The good news is that Syria may be feeling the pressure of U.S. efforts to promote reform in the world's last Baathist regime, including a promised $5 million to pro-democracy groups. The bad news is that the crackdown shows that despite U.S. efforts, Mr. Assad still feels confident enough to strong-arm his opponents. Washington has been pursuing a policy of pressuring Damascus since 2002, when it became clear that Syria was helping Saddam Hussein in his looming fight with the United States.

The hawks are squawking. Congressional conservatives and the right-wing media are blasting President Barack Obama for going soft on the Syrians. The president insists there is a "game-changing" red line the Syrian government will have crossed if it is found to have used chemical weapons against its people, but he has bent the red line so far, the hawks say, that not only the Syrians, but the Iranians and North Koreans will conclude Mr. Obama is a...

Does it occur to anyone in the left-wing Obama administration that arming Syrian rebels with modern weapons will result in arming a group of fighters who live just across the border from Israel ("The best bad option," May 2)? Does it dawn on anyone on the left who supports this president and this leftist administration what the future impact of high-grade weaponry will be on the Jewish state once the Syrian problems are settled and all these Israeli-hating Syrian terrorists and rebels have U.S. arms?

Israel and Syria continue to fight, Robert Downey Jr. continues to  pretend to fight, and in sunny, pastoral northern Pennsylvania, a former judge is still getting international attention a week after his sentencing over what amounts to a human-trafficking scheme. Welcome to your daily trends report for Monday, May 6, 2013. Mark Ciavarella, a former common pleas judge in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., was sentenced early last week for his role as a cog in the prison-industrial complex. Ciavarella and another judge, Michael Conahan, received kickback money from private jail operators to fill their beds with children as young as 10 without due process, often on first-time offenses.

Having vowed that any use of chemical weapons by Syria would cross a U.S. "red line" and provoke a strong American response "with enormous consequences," President Barack Obama now finds himself under increasing pressure to act, following reports by U.S. and foreign intelligence agencies that the regime of President Bashar Assad used deadly sarin gas against opponents last year. The problem for Mr. Obama is that the military options for enforcing his promise range from bad to very bad - while the risks of doing nothing may be even worse.

Human rights organizations believe that some 70,000 innocent civilians have been killed by the government in Syria's civil war and a million more have fled their country as refugees. Another million internally displaced people are wandering around inside Syria seeking safety. Since World War II, after Hitler's evil attempt to annihilate an entire population, people have been asking why the world took so long to intervene. Yet today, while innocent people are being sent to their deaths in Syria, the world continues to hem and haw while it tip-toes around the politically correct policies of honoring Syria's national autonomy and respecting its "sovereignty.

Regarding Ramzi and Noura Hemady's recent commentary on Syria's Golan Heights, the authors ignore three critical facts when it comes to the ultimate possession of that disputed territory ("Let people of the Golan decide their fate," Feb. 8). First, based on biblical and current history, the presence of Israel is justified in that strategic region. Second, there are now over 20,000 Israelis living on the Golan Heights with extensive agricultural development. Third, Syria has refused to negotiate for the return of the Golan Heights in exchange for making peace with Israel.

ON THE plane from Zurich to Tel Aviv, passengers stare at a newspaper photograph that tells an astonishing story: how swiftly and dangerously history can repeat itself.There stands the president of the United States, an exuberant smile on his face, the American flag behind him. At his left stands another smiling president, Hafez Assad of Syria -- dictator, assassin of thousands of his own people, master of terrorists who specialize in bombing airplanes.Assad smiles because the United States has made him the first winner in the Persian Gulf confrontation.

WASHINGTON -- Syria has been paid roughly $1 billion so far for participating in the coalition against Iraq and is trying to use this infusion of cash to buy advanced weapons for its military, U.S. officials say.President Hafez el Assad -- who until the gulf crisis was desperately short of cash -- is now seeking to buy surface-to-surface missiles, jet fighters and tanks, according to government analysts monitoring developments in Syria.Such purchases were revealed yesterday when an Israeli military official in Jerusalem told reporters that North Korea had sold Soviet-made Scud-C missiles to Syria.

Here we go again with a "chemical weapons" bogey man ("New fears over Syrian conflict," Dec. 4). America invaded and is occupying Iraq thanks to alleged weapons of mass destruction, and now Syria is in our gun sights based on similar claims. Don't we know when to quit with these outdated scare tactics? Most nightly news shows are talking about a "fiscal cliff" our economy is headed for, and so now is not the time for a new military exercise in the Middle East. As much as I deplore the horrors of present day Syria, there are other nations in the area that should be involved.

Syria's 20-month-long civil war appears to be approaching a tipping point as fighting around Damascus intensifies amid signs that President Bashar Assad's grip on power may be weakening. As the final phase in the long conflict apparently draws nearer, the U.S. needs be prepared for the challenges it will face in a post-Assad Syria that, like Libya, could well remain unsettled for years after the dictator's departure. In recent weeks, Syrian rebels have captured a number of strategic military bases and weapons dumps, allowing them to press their advantage.