"All we wish is to see the U.S. play its role in a fair and responsible way"
Less than two years ago, during the Israeli invasion of Lebanon, Syria's air force was decimated and its army routed. Today, thanks to massive rearmament by the Soviet Union, a faltering U.S. foreign policy and above all the adroit leadership of President Hafez Assad, Syria has emerged as the leading powerbroker in the Middle East. Having forced Lebanon to renounce its U.S.-sponsored agreement with Israel, Assad not only scored a major diplomatic triumph but established himself as the man to see for a Middle East settlement. This is even if, in trying to stabilize Lebanon, he may have overreached himself, as the breakup in the reconciliation talks last week suggests.
After suffering a serious heart ailment in November, Assad, 53, has slowly eased back into a normal working day. Three weeks ago he reshuffled his Cabinet, a move that some analysts interpreted as an attempt to balance power among potential successors. Though slightly wan, he remains forceful and engaging. In his modest office in Damascus last week, the Syrian President received Time Inc. Editor in Chief Henry Grunwald, TIME Managing Editor Ray Cave and Chief of Correspondents Richard Duncan for the first interview he has granted a U.S. publication since the suicidal bombing of the Marine headquarters in Beirut last October. He insisted that Syrian forces will not withdraw from Lebanon until asked to do so by a new Lebanese government of reconciliation (which, of course, would have to be dominated by Syria). He clearly still wants American involvement in the region, though mostly to restrain Israel. His recent success does not seem to have made him any more flexible. In tough and uncompromising language, Assad described U.S. policy as totally at odds with reality and hostage of the pro-Israel lobby in America. His remarks, including his scathing comments about U.S. politicians and voters, may shock many Americans, but they aptly illustrate why the problems in the Middle East are so intractable. Excerpts:
Q. Mr. President, is there a role for the U.S. to play in the Middle East? If so, what should that role be?
A. Certainly there is a role for the U.S. to play in the area. There is also one for the Soviet Union. No reasonable man can ignore the roles of these two superpowers. All that we wish is to see the U.S. play its role in a fair, unbiased and responsible way in accordance with its responsibilities as a superpower. We say this because we always perceive a continued and complete bias by the U.S. toward Israel. This bias, from our point of view, contradicts the interests of American citizens and does not serve the cause of peace.
Needless to say, there are tens, even hundreds of examples to prove this. It is enough to say that the U.S. gives Israel about $3 billion a year. This means that each Israeli gets $1,000 a year from the pockets of American citizens. Now you should know that in 90% of Third World countries, per capita income is much less than this figure. Moreover, we have to take into consideration that a big part of this money is in the form of sophisticated weapons which in turn are used to kill our citizens and to occupy our land.
Q. U.S. aid to Israel is bigger now than it was in 1975. Have you and other Arab leaders not asked yourselves why this aid increased and why you have not really affected American public opinion?