Letters to the Editor
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The Daily Star : Why Pelosi's visit to Damascus upset the neocons so much
http://dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=17&article_id=81214
THE DAILY STAR
Why Pelosi's visit to Damascus upset the neocons so much
Thursday, April 05, 2007
Editorial
...The neocons, whose ranks include both officials and armchair intellectuals with considerable influence in the United States, Israel and even here in Lebanon, insist that Pelosi's move sent all the wrong messages to the region's "terrorists" and "terrorist enablers." A better approach, they argue, would be to continue to try to pressure and ignore states like Syria and Iran until they eventually collapse into submission.But their prescription constitutes a willful denial of certain regional realities. Like it or not, Iran and Syria, for historic and geographic reasons, do have considerable influence in places like Palestine, Iraq and Lebanon, and no amount of bullying can reduce their sway. What can change, however, is how these states use their leverage, and as we have seen, they can either help secure stability or create chaos in other countries. Obviously, isolation and intimidation give them no incentive to play nice.
But neocons cringe at the idea of opening channels of dialogue with Damascus and Tehran. Put simply, they prefer to demonize, rather than deal with, their political rivals...
...That is why the neocons are howling over Pelosi's visit: The realization of their ambitions requires continued hostility and instability in order to justify additional meddling in the Middle East.
- - Editorial in "The Daily Star" of Lebanon