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Syria Today just celebrated its third birthday, a real cause for celebration.

Why?

The magazine is a joint venture between Syrians and Americans, and has managed to survive in Damascus, where media is severely restricted. The fact that Syria and America have been at odds over a wide array of issues makes the magazine’s survival even more incredible.

Here’s what Andrew Tabler, the editor-in-chief of Syria Today, had to say about his magazine’s birthday. And be sure to check out Syria Today, available online.

Magazine engages Syrians and Americans
by Andrew Tabler
13 November 2007

Damascus - When I decided to start up a current affairs magazine in Damascus, my friends told me that the first edition would likely also be the last. This October our monthly magazine, Syria Today – a Syrian-American joint venture, celebrated its third anniversary.

Historically, Syria has one of the Middle East’s most repressive media environments, so the launch of a private sector, English-language publication by a joint Syrian-American team is a unique and noteworthy endeavour. Syria Today’s success to date is based on the common need of both Americans and Syrians for better, more in-depth reporting on and from Syria.

Tensions with the West in the 1980s led the Syrian government to close most foreign media offices, and because of this sweeping action, Syrian contact with the rest of the world – specifically in terms of business and journalism – became limited. As a result of this relative isolation, journalistic standards declined vis-à-vis international standards, and even government ministers called the country’s news stories “unreadable”. Western readers were also desperate for information on Syria from a source other than the state-run English-language daily, The Syria Times, which continues to churn out convoluted, Orwellian-style propaganda.

Our success is also due to the keen understanding of both our Syrian and American partners of each other’s strengths and weaknesses. The Syrian owners – businesswoman Kinda Kanbar and two Damascene businessmen – recognised from the beginning that editorial matters at an English language publication should be left to native English speakers. This gave me and other Anglo-Saxon journalists working at Syria Today a vehicle through which to help Syrian journalists develop writing skills that enable them to reach Western audiences more effectively.

However, savvy journalistic techniques without relevant facts and quotes from local experts is not enough. This is where local knowledge and social penetration are key. Our Syrian partners use their social connections to help Syria Today writers arrange key interviews. They also read writers’ articles and suggest edits that help us cover sensitive issues without running foul of Syria’s strict media censor.

The fact that we were able to publish each month while Syria’s Assad administration struggled under intense international pressure was nothing short of a miracle. As Syria Today’s American partner, I focus less on the bottom line and more on the benefits of our joint collaboration. Because Washington lists Syria as a state sponsor of international terrorism, US development assistance is proscribed and US companies shy away from establishing business ventures and partnerships in Syria due to US economic sanctions.

So while the Syrian market is full of smuggled American goods, Americans cannot transfer much-needed professional skills to Syrians in any organised way. More than 40 years of badly administered Soviet-style socialism caused the country’s best and brightest to leave, and those left behind were poorly trained and unaccustomed to international norms. Currently, Syria Today is perhaps the only private sector institution in Syria that serves as a vehicle for communicating the ideas and values behind American products on a regular basis, and as such is a rare medium for sharing business news and innovations between the two countries.

Because of the Syrian government’s strict adherence to secular politics, we rarely raise the issue of religion in Syria Today. But we are able to engage in rich debate while grounded in very different cultures. American culture is explicit, freedom-loving, and straightforward. Syrian culture is more indirect, nuanced and hierarchical – the latter not only due to Syria’s authoritarian system of government, but also because of traditional patriarchal family structures. Perhaps this is why one doesn’t hear much in Syria about Western business ventures with Arab entrepreneurs; subtlety suits Syrians because involvement with Westerners could be used against them. In the West, we often shout about such things from the rooftops. It’s a matter of style, not substance.

In the past, radical political change in authoritarian countries had to precede American engagement with state-dominated economies. With the advent of globalisation and the movement of states like Syria towards market capitalism, however, the American private sector can now engage Syrian business without going directly through the Syrian regime. But to do so properly, Washington needs to rethink its sanctions policy toward Syria and other such states, and encourage America’s private sector to use its soft power to better relations. This approach will go a long way to repairing America’s reputation in the world and promote mutual understanding.

Syria Today and ventures like it are more than just businesses – they are vehicles for engaging the public within countries that otherwise have very little contact with one another.

It appears that Syria may take part in the upcoming Annapolis peace talks in Maryland, but it is unclear at what level-will it be the president or an envoy? Also unclear is whether the issue of the Golan Heights will be on table, or if the talks will focus primarily on resolving the conflict between Palestine and Israel.

Syria has been in diplomatic isolation with America for the last few years, but it looks like relations MAY be warming. Syria recently took a group of journalists and officials from several countries– including the States– to its border with Iraq, in an attempt to show increased security. America had been very upset at the apparent lack of border security, and angry that Syria had refused to turn over Baathists who had entered Syria from Iraq in the early days of the war.

Also a good sign-Syria agreed to let the Americans in to begin screening Iraqi refugees for resettlement in the states, something the Syrians had refused in the past.

Joshua Landis talks in great detail about different Syria-US foreign policy issues in the audio interview I conducted just a few days ago on this very blog-check it out.

In September 2007, I spent time in Damascus, Syria, and while there, I tried to keep a blog of my journey.  But many days, I would go to the internet cafe, only to find that several blog sites had seemingly been blocked.  It was just one occasion of several that reminded me–somebody in the government seemed to be watching.

It turns out that blogspot was blocked at the time I was there, an apparent crackdown on the activities of Syrian bloggers.  Global Voices online recently posted several comments of Syrian bloggers, responding to online censorship in their country.  Here’s an excerpt:

Following a report by Human Rights Watch, Sami ben Gharbia of Global Voices Advocacy wrote an article outlining Syria’s internet repression, which included the arrests of two citizens accused of making comments online considered insulting. Several Syrian bloggers demonstrated strong opinions about the situation, as well as the recent blocking of Blogspot.

Golaniya of Decentering Damascus wrote:

Last night I saw Ben Gharbia’s updated post on the Advocacy Global Voices’ site and this time it was about my country.

Two cyber activists were detained for posting online comments that were disfavored by our Syrian government. The report also talked about a case in which the government detained a third Syrian citizen for posting comments opposing KSA. the Syrian Military Intelligence detained him for “breaking ties” with an ally.

The blogger goes on to detail the situation, then says:

I have been living in Syria over a month now ever since I left Lebanon, and no one has mentioned these incidents. Unlike in Lebanon, Syrians know nothing about what’s happening in Syria, if it wasn’t for her blog, or international human rights, or opposition sites, no one would ever know about these violations of human rights. If I mentioned this in front of some friends they will probably not believe me for these things are abnormal to the Syrian consciousness and psyche. The Syrian government is not just detaining these amazing Syrian citizens in prison, but also detaining the “discussion” about them-the right to know, to think, and to wonder!

Creative Syria, a great online forum focusing on Syria issues, is hosting a discussion this month on Syria’s foreign policy. With what countries should Syria develop stronger relations? There’s quite a bit of activity right now with Syria and several nations, including Turkey, Iran and Russia.

The discussion is sure to be lively. Global Voices, an online consortium of bloggers from across the globe, has a great excerpt of Syria bloggers weighing in with their opinions on the direction of Syria’s foreign policy.

Here’s just a little of what you’ll find there:

SimoHurtta, thinks that Syria’s relations with its regional neighbors is much more important than its relations with the EU and the US.

Syria should concentrate on finding the elements which unite the areas/nations and actively work for a tighter Middle East’s political and economical union. Only co-operation can save the area from decades long civil wars and the faith of Afghanistan and Iraq.

Ehsani, feels that the Syrian regime has the mistaken view that Americans will be leaving Iraq in the near future, a view that is jeopardizing their foreign policy and interests.

Failure to deal with this reality has cost the country dearly. Having resisted the American invasion while working tirelessly to sabotage any chances of it becoming a success, Damascus made itself a target in this White House. The first price to pay was in Lebanon. The old tacit approval of its total control of that country’s political process soon gave way to a sudden reversal of fortunes. The Hariri murder was the final catalyst. Syria soon found itself forced to undo a strategy that has been carefully put together by Hafez Assad over the past 30 years.

Joshua Landis has had a life-long relationship with Syria, thanks to a childhood spent in Lebanon, two fulbright years in Syria, and countless trips. He is the Co-director at the Center of Peace Studies at the University of Oklahoma, and a widely-read blogger at Syria Comment.

I recently caught up with Joshua by phone while he was sitting on an airplane waiting for take-off. We talked about all things Syria-the current regime, the Syrian personality, the upcoming Annapolis peace talks, the Iraqi refugee situation in Syria, and the best things about Damascus. I’ve included the transcript here, or you can listen to the complete audio file by clicking on the link below.

You have a life-long relationship with Syria. What is it about Syria that you appreciate and admire?

Syria is one of the most unknown places in the Arab world. It still has much of the best of the Arab world It’s exotic, on the one hand. On the other, its modern, it’s multi-ethnic and secular in some ways. It’s just this multitude-and nobody really exactly tells you what’s on their mind. Everybody kind of keeps their cards close to their chest.

I was just there and that’s exactly what I noticed. I wasn’t sure if I was making that up in my head because I was so inexperienced with the people there or if that was something that was part of their nature or political reasons or what.

Part of its politics and part of it is social because there’s so many people living side by side. Its sort of an Ottoman place with all these ethnic groups and strange religious communities. And they don’t necessarily think highly of each other. They all get along, on a superficial level, as long as there’s order imposed on them, but they don’t always think highly of each other’s religion or habits. They whole place could blow apart easily. National identity in a Syrian way is just starting g to form. Of course, there’s an Arab identity, but many people are not Arabs there. But Syrian identity, national identity is just beginning to form, really. And all these different groups are starting to feel kinship.

That’s a really interesting thing you bring up, because when we would talk to people, they would say, “We’re all Syrians, we all get along,” it seemed like they did have a national identity. Were they just saying that?

In terms of foreign policy, they do share a lot. They want the Golan back, they don’t like that Israel booted out the Palestinians, and they generally agree on Lebanon, that it shouldn’t be too distant from Syria. The Arab-ness is a big common bond, and that fact that they oppose America’s invasion of Iraq, so forth. Beyond that, there’s tons of disagreements. The Sunnis think that the Shiites and the various heterodox groups are lost and are gonna go to hell, they all look askance at the Christians and think they all are looking more to the West than being really Arabs. On that level, there are deep suspicions. And on the part of the government, you don’t talk to anybody; you don’t let your real feelings be known unless you’re family, or somebody you’ve known for a really long time.

My other question about the regime in Syria right now is, the current regime says they’re interested in opening up society and I think the current president is responsible for bringing the Internet to Syria.

They’re definitely opening up; modernizing is probably the word you want to use. They’re clearly in modernizing mode, and that means opening up. But they have tight political control, and anyone in opposition gets let known very quickly that they shouldn’t be doing that or if they persist, they will go to jail. It really depends on what you think of democracy in a place like Syria. If you think it’s socially prepared for democracy, then I guess you become a big advocate. I think many people in Syria don’t believe they are ready for democracy or that they would turn into Iraq or that society might fall apart.

Have they seen the amount of Iraqi refugees that the government has allowed into the country as going against the idea of security?

These are their Arab brothers, they are co nationals in an Arab homeland. The first article of the Syrian constitution says that Syria is a region of the Arab nation, and its borders in a sense are illegitimate. And it should be part of this area that stretches from Iraq to Egypt and North Africa. And therefore, these Iraqis are nationals. So to deny them entry, means in a sense, to put pay to this Baathist, nationalist ideology, and say that welfare of Syrians comes over the welfare of Arabs. And that’s a big statement. Everybody knows it on some level, but it’s not official policy, its not ideology. So Syria is shifting in a sense, towards Syrian nationalism. Saying, “we’re going to take care of our own first, and let the devil take the Iraqis.”

It seems like Syria got a lot of criticism from the U.S. for allowing so many Iraqis in, but it seems like they were responding to a humanitarian crisis.

They got criticism for not turning over Iraqis that America wanted to put into Guantanamo. I think they happy for them to take the big masses, but they anted to Baathists and other elite people who had some information about the opposition to be turned over to the tender mercies of the Americans. They wouldn’t do that. Of course, America wasn’t in the mood to make a deal with Syria, which is what Syria was waiting for.

I heard yesterday that Syria will take part in the Annapolis Peace Talks in Maryland. Is this a nod in the right direction in improving relations between the two countries?

Evidently, according to one insider, there was blood on the floor of whether to invite the Syrians to Maryland. And they Syrians will be invited and they are interested in coming. But of course, they want Golan to be part of the peace process, and the Americans do not. They want the Syrians to come and essentially rubber stamp and approve of the American policy of bolstering the Palestinians and the West Bank and stymieing Hamas. Now, of course Hamas is traditionally Syria’s ally.

And not to bring up any issues important to Syria, like the Golan.

Syria is negotiating how much those issues will be brought up. Now the Americans don’t want Golan to be a focus of the negotiations, they want the focus to be on the Palestinians, but they are negotiating how the Golan will be brought up-will it be at the next meeting? Because the Syrians won’t go..Unless they get some confirmation that it’s going to be moved up in importance.

Have you heard any updates on what is going on with the Sept. 6 air strike in Syria?
It does remain a mystery and all three countries, Syria the U.S and Israel don’t want anything aired. Of course, the U.S and Israel insist there was some kind of nuclear plant being built, with North Korean technology. Now the IAEA is very skeptical of these claims…so there’s great debate over whether this was nuclear or not.

Why a blog about Syria?
It started as a lark..It now gets around 2,000 hits a day, but when there is a bombing, it will go as high as 4 or 5,000. It has around 2,000 readers a day. Many are “high quality” readers if you will…from intelligence, the state department, diplomats from capitals around the world, and sort of keep tabs on what’s happening through it. As an academic it’s a bonanza for me…it’s fun and useful to people, and in terms of keeping my hand in the policy world. It’s been fun…

On a personal note, do you have any favorite places in Syria, say in Damascus, any favorite memories?

The old city in Damascus can’t be beat. Damascus and Aleppo both are old cities and have so many architectural treasures and history and a diverse ethnic mosaic that still lives there sort of reminds you of the Ottoman period, still living in close quarters. You find this very exotic past still there. That’s not gonna last forever. And the people are fascinating because they come from every weird group and they all have different opinions, and trying to figure out how a place like that works is a real challenge and it needs to be done… Because America has demonized Syria.. and you feel like the world needs to be educated a bit.

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Written by David Ignatius, Daily Star, Lebanon, Saturday November 10, 2007

Efraim Halevy, the former head of the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad, titled his memoirs, “Man in the Shadows.” But now that he’s out in the sunlight, the 73-year-old retired spy chief has some surprisingly contrarian things to say about Iran and Syria. The gist of his message is that rather than constantly ratcheting up the rhetoric of confrontation, the United States and Israel should be looking for ways to establish a creative dialogue with these adversaries.

Halevy is a legendary figure in Israel because of his nearly 40 years of service as an intelligence officer, culminating in his years as Mossad’s director from 1998 to 2003. He managed Israel’s secret relationship with Jordan for more than a decade, and he became so close to King Hussein that the two personally negotiated the 1994 agreement paving the way for a peace treaty. So when Halevy talks about the utility of secret diplomacy, he knows whereof he speaks.

Of course, Halevy looks like the fictional master spy George Smiley - thinning hair, wise but weary eyes, the rumpled manner of someone who might have been a professor in another life. And he has the gift of anonymity: You would look right past him in a crowded room, never imagining that he was the man who had conducted daring secret missions. After he appeared here with former CIA director George Tenet at a conference sponsored by the Brookings Institution’s Saban Center, Halevy agreed to sit down for an interview.

The former Mossad chief suggests that Israel should stop its jeremiads that Iran poses an existential threat to the Jewish state. The rhetoric is wrong, he contends, and it gets in the way of finding a peaceful solution to the Iranian nuclear problem.

“I believe that Israel is indestructible,” insists Halevy. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad may boast that he wants to wipe Israel off the map, but Iran’s ability to consummate this threat is “minimal,” he says. “Israel has a whole arsenal of capabilities to make sure the Iranians don’t achieve their result.” Even if the Iranians did obtain a nuclear weapon, says Halevy, “they are deterrable,” because for the mullahs, survival and perpetuation of the regime is a holy obligation.

“We must be much more sophisticated and nuanced in our policies toward Iran,” Halevy contends. He argues for a combination of increased economic pressure and a diplomatic opening that attempts to speak to Iran’s “national aspirations” and its shared interests with America and the West - and even Israel.

“Iranians, including those in government, know that acceptance of Israel is not just something they have to accept, but something that might bring their deliverance,” Halevy maintains.

The former spy chief also argues that Ahmadinejad’s fiery rhetoric masks a deep split within Iran over the country’s future. “I believe that behind their bombastic statements there is a desperate fear that they are going down a path that would have dire consequences,” he maintains. “They don’t know how to extricate themselves. We have to find creative ways to help them escape from their rhetoric.”

Halevy, who made many secret visits to Iran during the days of the shah, argues that rather than rattling sabers, the West should be looking for dialogue with Tehran. “A creative and constructive approach to Iran’s concerns - not the dreams of their fanatic president to effect the demise of Israel - might move them to see that their self-interest would be better served by taking alternative paths.”

Halevy takes a similarly contrarian view about Syria. “Damascus is now ripe for peace negotiation,” he says. He argues that the Syrians are signaling their interest in such a negotiation, and that the details of an agreement were worked out during extensive talks in the 1990s. The Syrian track might be a breakthrough, he argues, because an accommodation with Damascus might bring along the rest of the Arab world, lead to a settlement in Lebanon, and undermine Syria’s current alliance with Iran.

If the Syrians are serious about a dialogue with Israel, they should send a clear signal, Halevy advises. They should urge Hizbullah to release the Israeli prisoners it is holding, or limit the activities of Hamas offices in Damascus. “Do a little,” he urges the Syrians. “Start the ball rolling.”

Halevy has battled for decades for Israel’s security, launching hundreds of secret missions over the years to defend the Jewish state. So he has earned the right to offer iconoclastic advice about his country’s strategic interests. At this delicate moment, he suggests, war talk about Iran is a mistake. “Sensible Iranians are not in short supply,” he confides. The challenge is to find them, and to begin a serious conversation.

Syndicated columnist David Ignaitus is published regularly by THE DAILY STAR

The Syrian government took a group of journalists and officials, including the U.S. military attache, on a tour of the Tanaf border post, hoping to showcase new security measures on its long border with Iraq on Saturday.

U.S. and Iraqi officials have long been criticial of the Syrian government, claiming it had not done enough to prevent insurgents from using the borders. Tighter visa restrictions went into effect on Oct. 1, and the number of Iraqis crossing the Syrian border seems to have dropped dramatically.

Saturday’s tour was a rare opportunity for foreigners to view the military outposts–new ones have been constructed, at times only 400 yards apart, each manned with six soldiers.

The number of Iraqi refugees who entered Syria in the last month has dropped dramatically.   Only 500 to 600 Iraqi refugees entered Syria since Oct. 1, when tighter visa restrictions were intitiated by the Syrian government.   Iraqis must now aquire a visa from the Syrian embassy in Baghdad, and only educational, commercial or scientific visas are issued.  In the past, up to 30,000 refugees entered the country every month.

Syria will allow American officials into the country to vet Iraqi refugees for resettlement in the United States.  Syria currently hosts more Iraqi refugees than any other country-between 1.2 and 1.5 million.

The United States was criticized by refugee agencies due to the low number of refugees it has admitted–out of 12,000 refugees the U.N. referred for resettlement, only 1,608 were allowed as of Sept. 30, the close of the fiscal year.  The Bush Administration has vowed to allow 12,000 refugees to resettle this year, but red tape in Homeland Security and the State Department is stalling the process.   Iraqi refugees must undergo extensive screenings.

Syria was allowing up to 30,000 refugees into the country per month, but recently clamped down.  The last open border crossing with Iraq has been closed and stricter visa regulations are now in place.

The U.S. and Israel invited Syria to join them at the Annapolis peace conference, but only if Syria promises not to bring up the issue of the Golan Heights.

The response from Syria was unequivocal-no, thanks.

Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Dardari told the AP that “For Syria to attend any such meeting requires that the Golan Heights issue is clearly on the agenda.”

Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria in the Six-Day War of 1967. The two countries continue to be officially at war.