Introduction to the evening news 31-10-2011

An optimism tainted by cautiousness surrounds the initiative of the Arab ministerial committee that is waiting for a Syrian response tonight. Damascus is moving between two tight margins; first, not ending talks with the committee despite their sharp warning to the Qatari prime minister yesterday, and second, not fully accepting the committee’s conditions with no amendments.      

The Syrian leadership is afraid to withdraw military vehicles from the streets, as stated in the initiative, without having a guarantee that the protests will come to an end and not turn public spaces into assembly centers and liberation squares. It also distinguishes between the demand to release political prisoners and the release of “those who assaulted security forces and public and governmental facilities”. It also does not favor the legalization of free access to media which it accuses of instigating strife.      

As for the conditions set by Damascus to kick off dialogue, the regime wants to classify opposition figures and does not accept any dialogue outside of Syria, except for the Syrian embassy in Cairo, in lieu of the proposed Arab League headquarters.      

Damascus refuses to deploy observers from the Arab League, as stated in one of the Arab initiative’s items.    

When Damascus felt it had been cornered, it decided to look past its break with Qatar, as Syrian foreign minister Walid Moallem met with Prince Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani.       
In parallel, Syria seems reassured by the Russian stance; at a time when the Russian foreign minister announced that Moscow wanted presidents Obama and Medvedev to discuss the issue of anti-missile shields, the NATO reiterated that it will not intervene militarily in Syria.         

The U.S. mission in Iraq draws to a close, and the rift between the U.S. and Iran regarding the fate of Iraq and the Gulf is growing wider; especially after a statement was issued by U.S. officials unveiling Washington’s plans to re-deploy troops in Kuwait ready to respond immediately in case the security situation in Iraq deteriorates. U.S. troops in Kuwait would also play a deterrent role against Iran as needed.       

These bits of information pushed the Iranian foreign minister to announce that American reinforcements in the Gulf, following a withdrawal from Iraq, are not rational.      

Not far from the Gulf, Prince Salman Bin Abdul Aziz is expected to be appointed tonight as the successor of late Saudi defense minister Prince Sultan.