Yesterday I noted Eli Lake’s New York Sun story on Zbigniew Brzezinski’s trip to Damascus. In Damascus Brzezinski met with Assad and senior officials of his regime, whose security he seeks to promote. This at the same time that the world was reminded of the sancturary afforded by the Assad regime to terrorist mass murderer Imad Mugniyeh. On Wednesday Brzezinski issued a statement affirming that both Syria and the United States have a common desire to achieve stability in the region. Zbigniew Brzezinski is the kind of “realist” who can’t see what’s in front of his nose.
Today Lake returns to report that one of the national finance chairmen for Ms. Hillary’s presidential campaign — Hassan Nemazee — left Damascus last night after a visit there as part of the same RAND Corp. delegation that Brzezinski headed. The Clinton campaign offered Lake no comment on Nemazee’s Syrian visit last night. The New York Sun is more forthcoming in its editorial on the subject.
A Google News search on “Brzezinski Damascus” reveals again today that the Obama/Clinton delegation to Syria remains a deep secret confined to readers of the New York Sun, Power Line, and Martin Peretz.
UPDATE: Michael Rubin writes: “Iranian Foreign Minister Mottaki was there at the next day (Feb. 14). Did they overlap?”
JOHN adds: Hey, don’t take our word for it. Here’s photographic evidence! Brzezinski with Assad; click to enlarge:
Someone should ask Obama whether his foreign policy adviser brought back any useful insights into our common interests with Assad. Assad had a busy week; here he is the following day, with Iranian Foreign Minister Mottaki. Do you suppose Assad was able to pass on any insights he’d gained into the foreign policy views off the front-runner for the Democratic nomination?
FURTHER UPDATE: According to an Israel National News report, Hezbullah terrorist Imad Mughniyeh was in the midst of preparing a major terrorist attack, with the help of Assad’s government, when he was killed in Damascus on Tuesday:
A Kuwaiti newspaper reports that Hizbullah terrorist chief Imad Mughniyeh, who was killed in a car-bomb attack in Damascus on Tuesday, was in the midst of planning major terrorist attacks in moderate Arab countries when he was killed.
Al-Watan reports that American intelligence had learned that Mughniyeh arrived in Damascus three days earlier with instructions from, and in coordination with, the Iranians. His objective was to meet with Hizbullah leaders and coordinate a mass attack, for which he was to receive help from Syrian intelligence.
Another Kuwaiti newspaper, Al-Siasa, reports that Mughniyeh took part, shortly before he was killed, in a secret meeting in the Iranian School in Damascus. Also participating in the meeting were Syrian Intelligence Chief Gen. Aisaf Shwackath, Hamas chief Khaled Mashaal, and an Islamic Jihad representative.
In this context, Brzezinski’s statement that the U.S. and Syria have a “shared interest in stability in the region” is puzzling at best. What are the chances that any reporter will ask Barack Obama whether he agrees with his adviser’s comment about our shared interests with Syria?
To comment on this post, go here.
Notice: All comments are subject to moderation. Our comments are intended to be a forum for civil discourse bearing on the subject under discussion. Commenters who stray beyond the bounds of civility or employ what we deem gratuitous vulgarity in a comment — including, but not limited to, “s***,” “f***,” “a*******,” or one of their many variants — will be banned without further notice in the sole discretion of the site moderator.