HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_031837.jpg
2.62 MB
Extraction Summary
2
People
5
Organizations
9
Locations
2
Events
2
Relationships
4
Quotes
Document Information
Type:
Policy memo / political analysis (house oversight committee exhibit)
File Size:
2.62 MB
Summary
This document appears to be page 4 of a policy paper or political analysis arguing strongly against peace negotiations between Israel and the Assad regime in Syria. The author contends that Assad is dependent on Iran and Hezbollah and that negotiating with him during the ongoing violence (likely the start of the Syrian Civil War) would be 'morally indefensible' and strategically suicidal for Israel. The document bears a House Oversight stamp, suggesting it was part of a congressional investigation.
People (2)
| Name | Role | Context |
|---|---|---|
| Bashar al-Assad | President of Syria |
Described as clinging to power, earning pariah status, and allied with Iran and Hezbollah.
|
| Ehud Olmert | Former Prime Minister of Israel |
Mentioned regarding his 2008 talks with Syria via Turkey.
|
Organizations (5)
| Name | Type | Context |
|---|---|---|
| Hezbollah |
Identified as one of Assad's only true allies.
|
|
| The White House |
Mentioned as a place where 'foolish' thinking about peace negotiations might occur.
|
|
| Sunni business elites |
Questioned whether they will turn against Assad.
|
|
| Sunni units |
Questioned whether they will rebel against Assad.
|
|
| House Oversight Committee |
Source of the document (indicated by the footer stamp).
|
Timeline (2 events)
2008
Talks between Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Syria (via Turkey).
Turkey (intermediary)
Circa 2011-2012 (implied)
Civil unrest, murders, and demonstrations taking place in Syria.
Syria
Assad regime
Peaceful demonstrators
Locations (9)
| Location | Context |
|---|---|
|
Central to the discussion of peace negotiations.
|
|
|
Country under Assad's regime, facing internal uprising.
|
|
|
Used metonymically for the Israeli government.
|
|
|
Identified as a key ally to Assad.
|
|
|
Strategic territory Israel might give up in negotiations.
|
|
|
Intermediary for the 2008 talks.
|
|
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Mentioned regarding isolation imposed on Syria.
|
|
|
Country that signed a peace agreement with Israel.
|
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|
Country that signed a peace agreement with Israel.
|
Relationships (2)
Text states 'his only true allies are Iran and Hezbollah.'
Text states 'his only true allies are Iran and Hezbollah.'
Key Quotes (4)
"Such thinking, whether in Jerusalem or the White House, is foolish and even grotesque."Source
HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_031837.jpg
Quote #1
"There is no possibility that Assad would negotiate seriously and that an agreement could be attained."Source
HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_031837.jpg
Quote #2
"Otherwise Israel would be giving the Golan, in effect, to Iran—a suicidal act."Source
HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_031837.jpg
Quote #3
"To react to the murders now taking place all over Syria by embracing the Assad regime would be morally indefensible."Source
HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_031837.jpg
Quote #4
Full Extracted Text
Complete text extracted from the document (2,052 characters)
4
peace with all four neighboring Arab states. And it can be argued
now that Assad may see negotiations with Israel as a way to climb
back from the pariah status he is earning, making him at this juncture
truly open to a new peace process.
Such thinking, whether in Jerusalem or the White House, is foolish
and even grotesque. There is no possibility that Assad would
negotiate seriously and that an agreement could be attained. He is
now clinging desperately to power, and his only true allies are Iran
and Hezbollah. Yet Israel’s (and, one hopes, our own) key
precondition to any agreement would necessarily be a clean break in
those relationships: an end to the Syrian alliance with Hezbollah and
Iran. Otherwise Israel would be giving the Golan, in effect, to Iran—a
suicidal act. No Israeli government would do it, which suggests that
negotiations with Assad would have no purpose.
Assad may indeed be open to commencing a negotiation as a means
to escape international isolation, but that’s all the more reason not to
give it to him. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s 2008 talks with Syria
(via Turkey) allowed Syria to escape the partial isolation the United
States had imposed on it in that decade, with zero gain for Israel. This
is not an experiment worth repeating, for the Assad regime is today
even more despicable than it was three years ago.
To react to the murders now taking place all over Syria by embracing
the Assad regime would be morally indefensible. Whether Assad can
be overthrown soon by the people of Syria is a fair question to ask.
Will the army stay with him, or will Sunni units rebel? Will the Sunni
business elites turn against him? How long can the regime survive?
We do not yet know the answers. But surely we must avoid any step
that could help Assad, rehabilitate his regime, or undermine the
courageous struggle of peaceful demonstrators in the streets of Syria.
The peace agreements that Israel signed with Egypt and Jordan were
real achievements, but there will be no such agreements with the
now that Assad may see negotiations with Israel as a way to climb
back from the pariah status he is earning, making him at this juncture
truly open to a new peace process.
Such thinking, whether in Jerusalem or the White House, is foolish
and even grotesque. There is no possibility that Assad would
negotiate seriously and that an agreement could be attained. He is
now clinging desperately to power, and his only true allies are Iran
and Hezbollah. Yet Israel’s (and, one hopes, our own) key
precondition to any agreement would necessarily be a clean break in
those relationships: an end to the Syrian alliance with Hezbollah and
Iran. Otherwise Israel would be giving the Golan, in effect, to Iran—a
suicidal act. No Israeli government would do it, which suggests that
negotiations with Assad would have no purpose.
Assad may indeed be open to commencing a negotiation as a means
to escape international isolation, but that’s all the more reason not to
give it to him. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s 2008 talks with Syria
(via Turkey) allowed Syria to escape the partial isolation the United
States had imposed on it in that decade, with zero gain for Israel. This
is not an experiment worth repeating, for the Assad regime is today
even more despicable than it was three years ago.
To react to the murders now taking place all over Syria by embracing
the Assad regime would be morally indefensible. Whether Assad can
be overthrown soon by the people of Syria is a fair question to ask.
Will the army stay with him, or will Sunni units rebel? Will the Sunni
business elites turn against him? How long can the regime survive?
We do not yet know the answers. But surely we must avoid any step
that could help Assad, rehabilitate his regime, or undermine the
courageous struggle of peaceful demonstrators in the streets of Syria.
The peace agreements that Israel signed with Egypt and Jordan were
real achievements, but there will be no such agreements with the
HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_031837
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