WASHINGTON, Feb. 1 (UPI) -- The United States cannot bring stability to Iraq without enlisting the cooperation of all of Iraq's neighbors, a U.S. senator said.
"The administration has adopted the approach of an ostrich," said Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla. Breaking with the Bush administration stance of not negotiating with Syria, Nelson met with Syrian President Bashar Assad during a 12-day trip to the Middle East in December.
Nelson explained that his visit, on the heels of the release of the Iraq Study Group's findings, was aimed at gaining insight on the concerns of the major players in the region. The Iraq Study Group concluded that engagement with regional actors, even with opponents of the United States, was a necessary step to finding a solution in Iraq.
Speaking at an event hosted by the Council on Foreign Relations on Tuesday, Nelson said that he noted a "limited opening" with Assad regarding joint U.S.-Syrian patrol of the Iraq-Syria border.
The United States and Syria established limited cooperation for border control three years ago, Nelson explained, but the partnership ended abruptly after the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in 2005.
During this latest visit, Assad expressed a willingness to resume border cooperation with U.S. or Iraqi forces, Nelson said. Diplomatic dialogue, if it materializes, could benefit all sides without requiring the United States to rescind any of its criticisms of Syria, Nelson said.
Nelson qualified the significance of the visit with Assad by saying that the Syrian president "stuck to his usual rhetoric of denial" regarding other matters, but Nelson said that even the slight interest in cooperation from the Syrians validated the suggestions made by the Iraq Study Group.
