PEACE OF THE BRAVE

Assad has made himself a key player in the Middle East and a major power broker by possessing the tools to terrorize and destabilize the region. He has always evaded responsibility by maintaining those terrorist surrogates in Syrian occupied Lebanon. Today, although weakened, Assad retains his ability to torpedo the fledgling peace by sponsoring his surrogates into action and then playing peacemaker when his objectives have been met and the prevailing stailmate has been restored. 

Without the terrorist network and its accompanying Iranian support Syria and Assad regional influence would be greatly reduced. So will Assad's peace alternatives be eliminated. If peace is to endure it must be comprehensive. Thus, Assad's ability to avoid a settlement and prevent others from reaching one must be terminated. 

Ideally, a Syrian compliance with the U.S. sponsored Taif accord by withdrawing from Lebanon and allowing the Lebanese Government to disarm and demobilize the terrorist organizations would deprive Assad from his most potent card and force him into serious negotiations or risk war in Syria itself. However, as a prelude to such withdrawal, Assad's rejectionist ability could be greatly diminished by holding the Syrian regime fully responsible for all actions by its surrogates operating under its tutelage in Lebanon. 

The U.S. Government must make clear and unequivocal that it holds Assad and the Syrian regime responsible for all such acts. It must also hold Assad responsible for the Lebanese Government's refrain from controlling terrorist activities, since Lebanon's Government and Armed Forces are today firmly subject to Syrian dictate. 

In so doing Assad's ability to torpedo peace while playing peace maker - his reason d'etre for remaining in Lebanon - would be eliminated. Depriving Assad from his Lebanese political cloak at a time when he lost his Arab backing for confronting "the enemy" Israel, would force him to reconsider his rejectionist stand and abide by the international will for peace in the Middle East, or risk international retribution. 

Ten years ago the world missed a golden opportunity for peace when it allowed Assad to scuttle the Lebanese-Israeli accord and retain his spoiler ability trough continued occupation of Lebanon. The wisdom of experience tells us that now like then Assad is not interested in peace. So long as International community indulges Assad's Lebanese cloak he retains his regional clout by maintaining the status quo of no war - no peace. Allowing him the opportunity to derail the peace process could have ominous effects on the region by elevating the radical fundamentalism to new heights. 

Like Israel and the PLO, Assad too would negotiate a settlement if faced with no viable alternative. If we are truly interested in comprehensive peace, we must deprive him of his Lebanon alternative and his ability to undo the progress attained so far.