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Petraeus’ Road to Damascus
Matthew Yglesias —
... Don’t tell Bill Kristol, but it seems David Petraeus wanted to go to Syria to try some of the old appeasement diplomatic engagement and Bush told him “no.” ...
Gen. Petraeus Prevented From Visiting Syria
PoliGazette —
General David Petraeus told the White House that he wanted to visit Syria in order to speak with the Syrians about the problems with the Iraqi-Syrian border earlier this year.
Petraeus wanted to meet Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, but was rebuffed by Bush administration officials at the White House, State Department and the Pentagon, the American news channel ABC News had learned. ...
Talking to our enemies
Political Animal —
... , "I do think you have to talk to enemies.... I mean what we did do in Iraq ultimately was sit down with some of those that were shooting at us." The Centcom commander has been following through on this quite a bit. Petraeus has already endorsed talking to the Taliban in Afghanistan, and reportedly wants to engage Syria, as well. What's the hitch? The Bush administration apparently won't let him . ABC News has learned, Petraeus proposed visiting Syria shortly after taking over as the top U.S. commander for the Middle East. The idea was swiftly rejected by Bush administration ...
Petraeus to McCain: I'm not your Guy
democracyarsenal.org —
Yesterday ABC reported that the White House decided to nix David Petraeus' request for a Syrian chit-chat. Spencer Ackerman thinks this is dumb of the White House, and I'm inclined to agree: According to ABC, Petraeus believes the Syrians can be cleaved away
from the Iranian sphere of influence, which would give the U.S. much
more leverage in dealing with Iran. Instead, the Bush administration
chose to keep relations frosty and to assassinate an al-Qaeda in Iraq
leader across the border into Syria, an act that the Syrians
understandably find to be an affront, coupled with a "warning"
to ...
The Bomb that Will Bring Us Together
Obsidian Wings —
by Eric Martin
ABC News is reporting today that General Petraeus has been pushing for a meeting with Syria's leadership but the Bush administration has refused. Although ABC News labels this an exclusive scoop, in truth, the story has been circulating for some time. Josh Landis, for example, was on the ...
Petraeus takes over Centcom
The Swamp —
... Which makes it interesting that Petraeus was smacked down by the Bush Administration on an idea he had to visit Syria after assuming his new command. ...
Patrick Barry: Petraeus to McCain: I'm not your Guy
Politics on HuffingtonPost.com —
Yesterday ABC reported that the White House decided to nix David Petraeus' request for a Syrian chit-chat. Spencer Ackerman thinks this is dumb of the White House, and I'm inclined to agree: According to ABC, Petraeus believes the Syrians can be cleaved away
from the Iranian sphere of influence, which would give the U.S. much
more leverage in dealing with Iran. Instead, the Bush administration
chose to keep relations frosty and to assassinate an al-Qaeda in Iraq
leader across the border into Syria, an act that the Syrians
understandably find to be an affront, coupled with a "warning"
to ...
Locking in Belligerence
Newshoggers.com —
By BJ
A little over a year ago, the Israeli military historian Martin Van Creveld looked into the possibility of pursuing a peace settlement between Israel and Syria as a way to peel the Syrians away from the Iran-Hezbollah alliance. The argument basically breaks down to the fact that Syria, as a secular, (and ...
Petraeus Sworn in as CENTCOM Commander
Taylor Marsh —
BY TAYLOR MARSH
via ABC News
General
Petraeus becomes responsible not only for overseeing military operations
in Iraq, where ...
Would McCain Negotiate With Syria?
Newshoggers.com —
... to move in the right direction.”
And suddenly, this [raid in eastern Syria] happens. I don’t believe the guys from the State Department were actually deceiving us. I believe they genuinely wanted to engage diplomatically and politically with Syria. We believe that other powers within the administration were upset with these meetings and they did this exactly to undermine the whole new atmosphere. That would fit well with reports that General Petraeus wanted to go talk to Syria too, but was prevented from doing so by Cheney. ...
Syrian Ambassador: Lieberman Assured Me McCain Would Talk With Syria
Think Progress —
... Just last week, ABC News reported that McCain’s hero Gen. David Petraeus sought to visit Syria diplomatically, but “the idea was swiftly rejected by Bush administration officials at the White House, State Department and the Pentagon.” (HT: ...
