Syria II

One of the things that struck me most in driving into Syria was the fact that women walk on the street. That was the big, huge initial impression that I got - I suddenly felt free to walk on the streets again. The longer I am here, the more I am completely baffled by their being lumped into the "axis of evil", as they are some of the friendliest and generous people I have met. And they have awesome desserts. And fruit juice (more on that later, but they make awesome fresh fruit juice).
In speaking with some, it appears that likely most of the beef that America (I'm starting to get in the practice of calling it "America", as apparently, most of the world does, except for us) has with Syria is actually it's anti-Israel stance, and the fact that it has no useful oil stores. Frankly, it's anti-Israel stance is NOT anti-semitic at all, but purely geo-political in nature, and it is not willing to compromise with a country it feels has taken some of its land away (ie. the Golan Heights). I suspect there may also be a point to make as well in that Syria is run by a dictator (a reasonable one, but a dictator nonetheless) - not that any Syrian would say this, as it is illegal, and, I think, it wouldn't even occur to them that having him as a dictor is a bad thing, as he's a benevolent dictator with a considerable cult of personality going on.
These are important points to make, as I note that this country is MUCH more Westernized than Jordan is, for sure. Which makes the contrast even odder - another letter I will be writing when I return will be to Mr. George W. Bush about this. For America has very good relations with Jordan and Saudi Arabia, as they either have a)brokered a peace deal with Israel or b)have massive oil stores. However, we well know Saudi is hardly known for its amazing human rights record, its advocacy for freedom of speech, or its vocality about the equality of women, and actually, neither is Jordan. So, being here certainly has made me much more cynical of the Bush administration, as Middle Eastern politics, as handled by the West, are certainly more dependent on circumstances than any sort of principles of freedom and democracy...
Furthermore, I spent some time talking with an Iraqi who fled from Baghdad in 2005 (two years after the invasion), when his situation just became too unbearable to stay any longer. I think I learned more about Middle Eastern politics talking to him for fifteen minutes than anything I could've learned from watching CNN or the CBC for hours... fascinating stuff...