Syria Policy Reveals Neocon Power
In the clamor over Iraq in September was a significant White House appointment that went entirely unnoticed in the U.S. media. The appointment of David Wurmser as Dick Cheney's adviser on the Middle East last month was an ominous sign of the continuing dominance of neoconservatives over George Bush's foreign policy, despite his plunging poll numbers and widespread criticism over Iraq.
With the vice-president increasingly seen as the dominant force shaping U.S. foreign policy – often publicly contradicing his own president's attempts to soften his "axis of evil" rhetoric – Wurmser's new post spells bad news for the Baath-led government of Syria. Since the mid-1990s, he has written frequently in support of a joint U.S.-Israeli effort to undermine then- President Hafez Assad in hopes of destroying Baathist rule, hastening the creation of a new regional order dominated by "tribal, familial, and clan unions under limited governments." His new boss is none other than Cheney's powerful national security director, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby.
And here's Wurmser's cv in case you want to learn more about this guy.
The US press hasn't covered this sotry at all, much less than the European press, but was picked up by the Islamic and Asia press. Does this mean we will find ourselves at war with Syria before the 2004 election? I doubt that will happen, but if Bush is re-elected, then his neo-con bandits will come up with a very strong case to attack Syria. Stay tuned!
