Ambassador Imad Moustapha: 'Syria Is Not an Enemy' by Larry Luxner Itís only spring, but Imad Moustapha is already feeling the heatóand with good reason. As Syriaís top diplomat in Washington, Moustapha has found himself continually on the defensive, having to explain to the world why 20,000 Syrian soldiers and intelligence agents are still in Lebanon, 29 years after they arrived to put an end to that countryís murderous civil war. ìRelations with the United States are extremely difficult,î he says during a wide-ranging interview at the Syrian Embassy on Wyoming Avenue. ìThereís probably no other ambassador as busy as I am,î Moustapha told The Washington Diplomat. ìI spend seven days a week giving media interviews, lectures, traveling across the U.S., meeting with members of the Syrian community. Iím working 18 hours a day. I have an extremely busy schedule and have only one message: Syria is not an enemy. Stop this negative campaign against Syria.î That campaign, largely unknown to the outside world, had been gathering since last September, when t he United States and France co-sponsored U.N. Resolution 1559, demanding the full withdrawal of Syrian and other foreign forces from Lebanon. But it really picked up steam on Feb. 14, when former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Haririóa frequent critic of Syriaís military presence in his countryówas gunned down by unknown assailants in Beirut. The event triggered widespread anti-Syrian protests throughout the small nation of 3.5 million. As The Washington Diplomat went to press, those protests were continuing, encouraged by a March 18 ultimatum by U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan demanding that Syria withdraw all its troops before Lebanon holds parliamentary elections this spring. Annan did secure a promise from Syrian President Bashar Assad at the Arab summit in Algeria that Syria would produce a timetable for a full withdrawal by early this month. Meanwhile, the United States is also pushing hard for a complete withdrawal. The day after Annanís announcement, deputy State Department spokesman Adam Ereli told reporters, ìWeíll be satisfied when the terms of Resolution 1559 are fulfilled. Syria needs to get out of Lebanon. That hasnít happened yet. That needs to happen.î Yet Moustapha sees things differently. ìI understand that the Lebanese people are divided,î the ambassador says. ìEven today, we still have a loyal constituency of Lebanese who believe in relations between our two countries. However, there are political forces in Lebanon that oppose our presence. They were always outspoken critics of Syria. Before Haririís assassination, Syria was reaching out to its critics. However, the assassination gave them the tools to benefit from this. We think this is disgraceful.î He says that at its peak, Syria had 42,000 soldiers in Lebanon, but that in the past two years, President Assad has pulled his men out of all major Lebanese cities. ìAs of a week ago, we had only 13,000 troops there. We will continue our withdrawals and end our military presence in Lebanon, but we will do this in an organized way that will not cause any damage.î He continues: ìWe care a lot about Lebanon. If, God forbid, violence erupts in Lebanon, this will reflect badly on Syria, while the Americans sit here comfortably in Washington.î Moustapha is a most unlikely ambassador. Before coming to Washington, the 45-year-old Aleppo nativeówho had never held a diplomatic jobówas dean of the information technology faculty at the University of Damascus. He was also secretary-general of the Arab School on Science and Technology, and co-founder of the Network of Syrian Scientists, Technologists and Innovators Abroad. Moustapha, who is fluent in English and French as well as his native Arabic, holds a doctorate in computer science from the University of Surrey in Great Britain. He has a wide range of interests that includes globalization, cultural identities, Western classical music and the social impact of the Internet. He has written, co-authored and edited several books in English and Arabic, including ìThe Echoes of Orpheus,î ìCreativity Out From the Windows of Hellî and ìConcurrent Engineering.î Since assuming his post exactly one year ago, Moustapha has become a passionate defender of his countryís often controversial policies. And since Haririís death, heís been thrust into the spotlight, appearing on more radio and television talk shows in the last six weeks than he can remember. ìAnyone with simple logic and power of analysis can easily see that the sinister act of assassinating Hariri actually extends far beyond the assassination itself,î he says. ìWe believe that Syria was targeted by this. If you look at the aftermath, how Syria has been terribly damaged, how feelings were stirred up against Syria, how Syriaís enemies capitalized on this brutal murder, you will see how bitter and disappointed we feel.î Asked who he thinks was behind Haririís murder, the diplomat answers: ìIím not a conspiracy theorist. Nobody knows. However, we can easily see who is benefiting from this crime. The United States is trying to use it to score political points against Syria, and allow the criminals who committed this crime to reap the benefits. This is why we are feeling so devastated.î Another reason for Moustaphaís pessimism is Syriaís continued presence on the U.S. State Department list of terrorist-supporting statesóalong with such pariahs as Iran, Libya, North Korea, Sudan and Cuba. ìWe have repeatedly said to the United States, ëThe day you have a single shred of evidence, come to us, and if this is true, we will act on it.í We have never refused. We have the political will to engage with the United States. The problem is, itís a strategic decision [to] use Syria as a scapegoat.î Behind this strategy, Moustapha argues, is the Israeli government, which has long accused Damascus of letting Palestinian terrorists operate from inside Syriaóa charge the ambassador angrily denies. ìWe have categorically said we do not allow any person from Syrian territory to communicate with or provide logistics to the occupied territories. The Israeli actions themselves in the occupied territories are responsible for the vicious cycle of violence,î he says. ìThey build walls, expropriate territories and farmland, they demolish houses, they assassinate leaders of the Palestinian people, and have caused suffering and humiliation for 35 years. It suits the Israelis to claim that Syria is responsible, because they donít want to blame themselves for their own failed policies.î Syria and Israel, sworn enemies ever since Israelís establishment in 1948, have fought four wars against each other. In 1967, Syria lost the Golan Heights to Israel. Little progress has been made since the last war in 1973. ìWe were on the verge of signing a peace accord with Yitzhak Rabin when he was assassinated. Then Shimon Peres repeated the same offer, and he lost the elections. The day Benjamin Netanyahu became prime minister, he said he would never give back the Golan Heights, and the peace process collapsed,î says Moustapha. ìEhud Barak immediately re-engaged with us, but then he started getting negative signs in the Israeli press and began worrying about losing the election. Eventually, he did not sign any treaty. He lost the elections anywayóand a third historic opportunity for peace was lost.î Israel, however, says the blame lies elsewhere. ìSyria knows exactly what it needs to do to reach peace with Israel. The offices of radical, extremist Palestinian groups are all based in Damascus. They're fully operative and they direct terrorism inside Israel,î says David Siegel, chief spokesman at the Israeli Embassy. ìThese groups operate out of Syria, with Syria's knowledge, and they're actively working to undermine the peace process between Israel and the Palestinians, which is at a very delicate stage. Syria can take very basic steps to shut down these operations and prove that it's a force for stability, not instability, in the Middle East.î Both sides do agree that the dynamics in the Middle East are changing and that now might be different. With the death of Yasser Arafat and his replacement by Mahmoud Abbas as president of the Palestinian Authority, peace talks have been reenergized. Both Egypt and Jordan have returned their ambassadors to Tel Aviv after a four-year absence, and Israel is prepared to evacuate all its settlements in the Gaza Strip later this year. Syria, with 18.5 million inhabitants, is considerably larger than Israel, with only 6.5 million people, yet it lags far behind Israel in life expectancy, per-capita gross domestic product, and nearly every other economic and social indicator. Peace could relieve both countries of the need to spend massive amounts of money on defense. ìRight now, there is a window of opportunity for peace in the Middle East,î says Moustapha. ìSyria supports Abbas 100 percent. We are using all the influence we have with Palestinian groups. We do not think anyone should undermine his efforts. However, we are very worried that the Israelis donít want this to happen.î That, he argues, is because Israel enjoys ìunfaltering, blind American supportî as well as military superiority over its enemies, which Moustapha says gives the Jewish state a feeling that time is on its side. But it is not, he cautions. ìRight now, they donít give a damn about engaging in peace with their neighbors,î Moustapha pointedly says. ìThis is the core issue. Over the past 18 months, Syria has repeatedly invited Israel to re-engage in the peace process. Every time, they rebuff our calls. [Prime Minister Ariel] Sharon is telling his people he canít resume peace talks. This same message canít be repeated in Washington, so they say Syria is a terrorist state. Because the Israelis are feeling awkward and Syria is exposing them, they go on the offensive by saying Syria is responsible for terrorist attacks in Tel Aviv and Haifa.î Moustapha adds: ìI firmly believe that Syria and Israel will have peace one day. Itís regretful that some politicians in Israel donít have this vision. How unfortunate it is that we have to wait for years, for Israel to realize that they have no other alternative.î In the meantime, Moustapha says he has cultivated close ties with many U.S. Jewish leaders and claims that some of them actually support the Syrian position against Israel. ìI have had contacts with almost every prominent Jewish leader in the United States. I donít hesitate to talk to these people. I tell them, ëIím not asking for you not to care about Israel, Iím only asking you to support the peace camp.í I tell them, ëGo and use your leverage with your Israeli friends and convince them.íî The ambassador is particularly fond of talking about his friendship with American Jews of Syrian origin. ìIím very proud of the excellent relationship I have managed to build with the Syrian Jewish community in Brooklyn,î he says. ìSince introducing myself to them, weíve become very friendly. Theyíve invited me to their weddings and bar mitzvahs, and I have met their grand rabbi. I think they are very upset about this campaign against Syria.î As Syriaís ambassador, Moustapha has no official contact with his Israeli counterpart in Washington, Daniel Ayalon. Nor may Syrian Embassy officials socialize with Israeli Embassy staff at receptions, even if they wanted to. ìI represent my country. They represent their country,î Moustapha says matter of factly. ìThis is not about Israel occupying my country and me having nice relations with their representatives. The idea is preposterous.î For an ambassador, Moustapha is astonishingly frank when talking about his frustrations in Washingtonóparticularly with regard to Capitol Hill and U.S. lawmakersí traditional support of Israel. ìIím not going to name our friends, but I do know who our enemies are Ö people who have an extremely pro-Israel agenda,î he says. ìThe majority are congressmen who have very little understanding about the issues of the Middle East but only accommodate the desires of their constituents.î Asked about whether Syria will ever become a democracy, with free elections and complete freedom of speech, Moustapha calls ìthis is an ongoing debate.î The U.S. approach, he tells us, ìis to send troops and tanks, introducing democracy using brute force. We have our own approach. Civil liberties in Syria are expanding nonstop. Soon, we will have new laws allowing political parties to form and function. This is not a secret. ìDemocracies should flourish from within, not be imposed from without,î he adds. ìThe U.S. is not helping Syria move toward a more open system. If anything, it is undermining this movement.î On the economic front, Syria is already going through ìprofoundî changes, the ambassador notes. ìWe are moving from a centrally planned economy to a market economy. It is opening its laws and regulations regarding finance. We have introduced private banking to Syria, and weíre working to open our telecom system. We now have a national project to have an information superhighway to allow easy Internet access from even the most remote villages.î But Moustapha expresses frustration at U.S. laws that restrict Syrian access to technology, arguing that if the United States wants Syria to modernize, it should help his country rather than put obstacles in its path. ìSyria has changed a lot. Itís unfair to always look for negative images,î he says. ìSyria has never been a totalitarian state. We have never been like the ex-communist countries. Iím not claiming that it was not a more centrally controlled state, but this was in the past. Why are people still talking about this today? Go to Syria today, and you will be surprised.î Larry Luxner is a contributing writer for The Washington Diplomat.