[LCM Articles] Briefing: Syria After Mehlis

Fri Oct 21 16:00:17 EDT 2005

FYI if you are in the Washington, DC, area.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: Communications 
To: Communications 
Sent: Friday, October 21, 2005 1:08 PM
Subject: Brookings Briefing: Syria After Mehlis 

A SABAN CENTER FOR MIDDLE EAST POLICY BRIEFING

Syria After Mehlis:

How the Lebanese Prime Minister's Assassination 

Will Affect U.S.- Syrian Relations

Thursday, October 27, 2005

10:30 a.m - 12:00 p.m.

The Brookings Institution

Falk Auditorium

1775 Massachusetts Avenue, NW

Washington, D.C.

Moderator:

MARTIN INDYK

Director

The Saban Center for Middle East Policy

Brookings

Panelists:

FLYNT LEVERETT

Senior Fellow

The Saban Center for Middle East Policy

Brookings

AMMAR ABDULHAMID

Visiting Fellow

The Saban Center for Middle East Policy

Brookings

The United Nations released their report on the inquiry into the February 14, 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri and it will have grave implications for Syria. The investigation, led by Detlev Mehlis, a prosecutor from Germany, delivered a scathing report detailing high-level Syrian involvement in the murder of Hariri. This report could trigger international sanctions against Syria. Former Senior Director for Near Eastern Affairs under George W. Bush and Brookings Senior Fellow Flynt Leverett, in addition to Ammar Abdulhamid, a Syrian expert on minorities and human rights in the Middle East and visiting fellow in the Arab Democracy and Development project at Brookings, will discuss the implications of the Mehlis investigation for Syrian and U.S. policy. Martin Indyk, director of the Saban Center, will moderate the discussion.

How the Bush Administration responds to the Mehlis report will have a potentially profound impact on its Iraq policy and its wider efforts to promote democracy in the Middle East. The report could bolster the administration to force Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to cooperate with the inquiry, end alleged meddling in Lebanon and Iraq, and halt support for Palestinian militants. The investigation appears to have already affected Syrian politics, raising the possibility of changes inside the regime. One leading official who had been deeply involved in Syria's Lebanon policy, the interior minister, Ghazi Kanaan, reportedly committed suicide on October 12. 

Leverett is a leading authoring on Syria and recently authored Inheriting Syria: Bashar's Trial by Fire (Brookings, 2005) which gives a detailed analysis of the Syrian regime. Ammar Abdulhamid is head of the Damascus-based DarEmar publishing house, and is a well-known advocate for minority rights, democratization, and stronger civil society in Syria. Both will talk in depth on the repercussions of the report and the future of foreign policy between the nations.

A question and answer session will follow remarks. 

RSVP: Please call the. Brookings Office of Communications, 202/797-6105, or by e-mail at communications at brookings.edu or online at http://www.brookings.edu/eventregistration 

************************************************

Katie Busch

Media Relations Officer

The Brookings Institution

1775 Massachusetts Ave, NW

Washington, DC  20036

Direct Line:  202/797-6467

www.brookings.edu
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