Help me out here: What's in it for Syria?

Submitted by Doug Stracner (United States), Aug 1, 2006 at 09:25

Israel has solid peace treaties with Egypt and Jordan. Lebanon, we hope, is headed toward further democratic reform and shows no desire for an antagonistic relationship with Israel once Hezbollah is defanged. Why, then, would poor, isolated Syria continue its intransigent belligerence toward Israel and any peace process?

Common sense suggests that a US/European peace accord in which Syria gets the Golan Heights back (if Israel refuses that demand, there's nothing we can do for them....), a newly profitable relationship with Europe and the US, and a flood of American and US tourists on their beautiful coastline. Why would they choose to line up with Shiites, of all people, in Iran and face international condemnation and a possible war with Israel (and perhaps US forces from Iraq) that they have no chance of winning? Are they just bull-headedly stupid, or am I missing something?

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".