Diplomacy: Syrian Detour

Jordan's Hussein meets Assad

For more than a decade, Syria's President Hafez Assad has insisted that the road to peace in the Middle East must pass through Damascus. At least two such detours through the Syrian capital have just taken place. On Dec. 28, the warlords of Lebanon's feuding militias assembled in Damascus to sign a Syrian-brokered agreement designed to end almost eleven years of civil war. Last week Assad's image was burnished further when Jordan's King Hussein traveled to Syria for the first time in six years.

During the 28-hour visit, the two Arab leaders met four times, twice alone. What was said during...

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