[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 97 (Thursday, June 25, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7031-S7032]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           SYRIAN AMBASSADOR

  Mr. SPECTER. Madam President, I compliment the President for his 
decision to send an Ambassador back to Syria. I am a firm believer in 
dialog. I believe that even though we may have some substantial 
questions about Syria's activities and Syria's conduct, we ought to 
continue the dialog. I believe in the famous maxim that you make peace 
with your enemies and not your friends. The derivative of that would be 
to talk to people who may be adversaries--not that I necessarily put 
Syria in an adversarial position, and I certainly wouldn't characterize 
them as an enemy. But the Ambassador was withdrawn 4 years ago as a 
protest to the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik 
Hariri.
  The Security Council of the United Nations adopted a resolution on 
April 7, 2005, to establish an independent international investigating 
commission to inquire into all aspects of the terrorist attack killing 
Prime Minister Hariri. That tribunal has faced considerable obstacles, 
but it is still in operation, and I think its report would be very 
important in making a determination as to who was responsible for the 
assassination of Prime Minister Hariri and whether Syrian officials 
were implicated in any way.
  I do believe and have believed for a long time that Syria could be 
the key to advancing the peace process in the Mideast.
  In connection with my duties as chairman of the Intelligence 
Committee in the 104th Congress and my work on the Foreign Operations 
Subcommittee of the Appropriations Committee during my tenure in the 
Senate, I have traveled extensively abroad and have concentrated on the 
situation in the Mideast. In connection with those travels, I have 
visited Syria 18 times and have studied the Syrian Government. I have 
gotten to know former President Hafez al-Asad, current President Bashar 
al-Asad, Foreign Minister Walid Mualem, who for 10 years was Ambassador 
to the United States and now is Foreign Minister.
  It has long been my view that a dialog with Syria is very important. 
In December of 1988, I had my first meeting with Syrian President Hafez 
al-Asad, a meeting which lasted 4 hours 35 minutes. During the course 
of that meeting--President Hafez al-Asad was noted for his long 
meetings--we discussed virtually every problem of the world and every 
problem of the Mideast. It seemed to me from that meeting that 
President Asad was open to conversation. I have had many similar 
meetings with him. I was the only Member of Congress to attend his 
funeral in the summer of 2000. At that time, I met his successor, 
President Bashar al-Asad, and have gotten to know him, with meetings 
virtually every year in the intervening time.
  There have been back-channel negotiations conducted through Turkish 
intervention between Israel and Syria, and I think dialog between the 
United States and Syria could promote future discussions between Syria 
and Israel. It would be my hope that the day would be sooner rather 
than later when Syria would be willing to talk to Israel directly. The 
Israeli officials, the Prime Ministers, have repeatedly stated their 
interest in direct conversations. Syria has resisted but has undertaken 
conversations through back channels. President Clinton came very close 
to effectuating--or made a lot of progress toward an agreement is 
perhaps more accurate to say--in 1995 when Prime Minister Rabin was in 
charge of Israel. In the year 2000, again, there was substantial 
progress made by President Clinton on those efforts. The back-channel 
communications brokered by Turkey suggest the time is right for 
promoting that kind of an effort.
  Only Israel can make a determination as to whether Israel wants to 
give up the Golan Heights, which is key to

[[Page S7032]]

having the peace talks proceed. But it is a very different world today 
in the era of rockets than it was in 1967 when Israel captured the 
Golan Heights. Syria, obviously, wants the Golan back as a matter of 
national pride.
  Former Secretary of State Kissinger told me that he found President 
Hafez al-Asad to keep his word on the negotiations for the 
disengagement in 1974, so that, obviously, any arrangements would have 
to be very carefully negotiated under President Reagan's famous dictum 
of ``trust but verify.''
  It seems to me now is a good time to promote that dialog. The 
advantages would be if Lebanon could be stabilized. It is an ongoing 
question to the extent Syria is destabilizing Lebanon. The Syrian 
officials deny it. There is no doubt that Syria supports Hezbollah and 
Hamas, so that Israel could gain considerably if the weapons to Hamas 
were cut off and attacks from the south and Hezbollah were not a threat 
from the north.
  The sending of an Ambassador is a very positive sign, a positive sign 
that Envoy former-Senator George Mitchell was visiting. I think this 
bodes well. The article I wrote in the Washington Quarterly some time 
ago sets forth in some greater detail my views on the issue of dialog.
  I note my colleague has come to the floor, so I will conclude my 
statement and yield the floor.

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