
Understanding Syria's national strategy is one of the most complex and controversial questions of contemporary Middle East politics. Many government officials, policy analysts, and journalists wrongly predicted that Syria was ready to make a peace agreement with Israel. Clearly, important factors were left out of the equation. To examine Syrian thinking and policy, perhaps the single most interesting document is the January 2000 speech by Syrian foreign minister Faruq al-Shara to the Arab … [Read more...]