US sends feelers to Syrian Opposition

The Bush administration is reaching out to the Syrian Opposition because of growing concerns that unrest in Lebanon could spill over and sud...

The Bush administration is reaching out to the Syrian Opposition because of growing concerns that unrest in Lebanon could spill over and suddenly destabilize Syria, which borders four countries pivotal to US West Asia policy —— Israel, Iraq, Lebanon and Turkey, according to US and Syrian sources. In an interview, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Friday that the United States is talking to ‘‘as many people as we possibly can’’ about the situation in Syria, as well as in Lebanon, to ensure that Washington is prepared in the event of yet another abrupt political upheaval.

‘‘What we’re trying to do is to assess the situation so that nobody is blind-sided, because events are moving so fast and in such unpredictable directions that it is only prudent at this point to know what’s going on,’’ Rice told Post editors and reporters, citing ‘‘the possibility for what I often call discontinuous events, meaning that you were expecting them to go along like this and all of a sudden they go off in this direction, in periods of change like this. So we’re going to look at all the possibilities and talk to as many people as we possibly can.’’

A Thursday meeting, hosted by new State Department ‘‘democracy czar’’ Elizabeth Cheney, brought together senior administration officials from Vice President Dick Cheney’s office, the National Security Council and the Pentagon and about a dozen prominent Syrian-Americans, including political activists, community leaders, academics and an opposition group, a senior State Department official said.

Story continues below this ad

The opposition group comes from the Syria Reform Party, a small US-based Syrian organization often compared to the Iraqi National Congress led by former exile Ahmed Chalabi. The Iraqi National Congress, which led the campaign to oust former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, had widespread US financial and political support from both the Clinton and Bush administrations, as well as Congress. US officials, however, on Friday denied that the meeting was intended to coordinate efforts to oust the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad.

‘‘That would be a monumental distortion,’’ said a senior State Department official. ‘‘But it was a discussion about supporting reform and change in the region and specifically Syria —— and how we can help that and work with people in the region and Syria to support that process.’’

The US outreach is a direct result of President Bush’s discussion last month with French President Jacques Chirac, said US and European officials. Advising against any discussion of ‘‘regime change,’’ Chirac told Bush that the Damascus government was unlikely to survive the withdrawal of Syrian forces from Lebanon.

The French president predicted free elections in Lebanon would in turn force change inside Syria, possibly unraveling Assad’s government, US sources said. Since that Feb. 21 meeting, the Bush administration has begun looking at possible political options in Syria, said analysts familiar with the US thinking.

—Washington Post/LAT-WP

EAM Jaishankar and US Secretary of State Rubio hold bilateral discussions in New York

India3 hr ago

Indian Foreign Minister Jaishankar and US Senator Rubio met in New York to discuss the 25% tariff on Indian oil imposed by Trump. This was their first in-person meeting since the Quad Foreign Ministers' Meeting. India and the US also began talks for a trade agreement, with positive discussions during a recent visit by US trade officials to India.

View all shorts

Live Blog