Khatami’s doublespeak and a hot potato.
December 30, 2003
By Nir Boms
“What I say does not definitely reflect what I think. What I do does not necessary reflect what I say. Therefore, not everything that I do necessary contradicts everything that I think.” This explanation of “Middle Eastern Logic” issued by the British ambassador in Tehran two decades ago may help clarify the candor and transparency of recent statements coming from countries like Iran and Libya.
Friday, November 19, 2004
By Nir Boms and Erick Stakelbeck
With Yasser Arafat’s death, Europe has lost its oldest and dearest Arab despot. But the race to replace him as the European Union’s favored Middle East tyrant has already begun – and we seem to have a winner. Late last month, just days before Arafat was flown to Paris to receive medical treatment, the European Commission and Syria signed an “Association Agreement” that strengthened Syrian dictator Bashar Al-Assad’s iron grip on power. Amazingly, this significant development was all but ignored by the Western media.
May 19, 2004
By Nir Boms
As news of the Abu Ghraib scandal and Nicholas Berg’s beheading dominates the headlines, American media have all but ignored one of the most significant developments since President Bush’s now-famous 2002 “axis of evil” statement: the presidential signature on sanctions against Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria.
In accordance with the Syria Accountability Act, President Bush imposed sanctions on Syria for “supporting terrorism, continuing its occupation of Lebanon, pursuing weapons of mass destruction and missile programs, and undermining United States and international efforts with respect to the stabilization and reconstruction of Iraq.”
By Elliot Chodoff and Nir Boms
FrontPageMagazine.com | January 21, 2005
It was a busy week of hospitality for Bashar Al-Assad. As visitors from America and China graced the halls of the presidential palace in Damascus, longer-staying guests continued to depend on Assad’s welcome and shelter to make trouble across Syria’s borders.
Senator John Kerry, still in presidential campaign mode, visited Syria last weekend and came away bearing apparent good news: Syria would like to open a new page in its relations with the U.S. Kerry arrived in Damascus immediately following the departure of U.S. Under Secretary of State Richard Armitage. Armitage had been there to discuss Syria’s failure to prevent armed supporters of the former Iraqi regime from entering Iraq and launching attacks against American troops and Iraqis. Assad told Armitage that Syria is doing its best to control the terrorists and that Syrians are largely uninvolved in Iraq. Imad Mustafa, Syria’s ambassador to the United States, who also attended the meeting, asked Americans to stop their criticism of Syria in the media since “they have nothing to support” it. Continue reading