Israel and Syria: the search for a 'risk free' peace.

Summary

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The main hindrance in establishing lasting peace between Israel and Syria is the issue of security. The peace process which started in 1992 needs to devise a formula where Israel's security and Syria's sovereignty over Golan can be safeguarded. US troops in the Golan could monitor an Israeli-Syrian peace. Such a peace would not be risk-free for either side, but this mutual vulnerability could prove useful. A peace agreement between the two countries would be a blow to Islamic fundamentalism, would enhance stability and the economic fortunes of the region.

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Extract

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Israel and Syria: the search for a 'risk free' peace.

Dr. Ben-Meir is professor of international relations at New York University. This essay is based on the author's recent visit to Syria and Israel and on numerous conversations with officials involved in the Israeli-Syrian negotiations.

The primary obstacle that stands in the way of peace between Israel and Syria is the problem of security, both real and imagined. Indeed, the formula of "full withdrawal for full peace" has gained tremendous public notoriety in Israel and Syria since negotiations began three years ago. What has complicated the peace talks is the question of how to fold this formula into an agreement without compromising Israel's security or Syria's sovereignty over the Golan.

Whereas the real security problem, I believe, can and probably will ultimately be resolved, it is Israeli concern over the unforeseen security issues--rooted in both nations' deep-rooted fear, animosity and suspicion-- which continues to beleaguer the negotiations. This is why I begin with an analysis of Israeli and Syrian public feelings, sentiments toward peace and the premises on which an agreement can be reached. Next I try to explain where the two governments actually stand in the negotiating process. I then explore the security problems hindering their efforts to reach an agreement.

I conclude by elaborating on the need for direct and active U.S. involvement, including the rationale behind the critical importance of placing U.S. troops on the Golan to monitor the peace. Finally, I offer a framework for an agreement based on information gathered in the course of my travels in the region and through meeting with officials on both sides of the negotiations.

SYRIA AND PEACE: PUBLIC PERCEPTIONS

An understanding of the depth of peace sentiments among the Syrian public and what precipitated such feelings after five decades of intense enmity toward Israel can be grasped only in the context of the day-today life of the Syrian people. E;or the average Syrian peace is not a mere slogan. The individual in the street views renewed war as an utter waste that will inflict further suffering, without the prospect of any gain. Most Syrian families, I was told, like their counterparts in Israel, having sustained terrible losses in past wars, have no stomach for renewed conflict. Although technically still in a state of war, Syria and Israel have not engaged each other militarily since 1982, and the Syrian public has begun to dream in real terms about the prospects for peace.

Socially, Syrians today appear to enjoy a "healthy balance" between the Baath socialist political orientation and the state religion of Islam. Although Islam is predominant and the general outlook of the Syrians is conservative, freedom is expanding without offsetting the delicate social balance the government is bent on preserving. Syrians are proud that there is hardly any crime or drug addiction, and the ...

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