Stick worth carrying

By shoring up the Syrians we empower those within the regime who advocate terror and violence. It is for this reason that we must carefully choose our partners in the Arab world and recognize that we have very few friends in that region that can stand up to these terrorists.

In recent years I have been battling the Syrian government both privately and publicly over the illegal imprisonment of Zachary Baumel, a United States citizen captured by the Syrians while serving in the Israeli army in 1982 as well as his two fellow Israeli soldiers from the Battle of Sultan Yakoub.

My most recent efforts have culminated in a successful lawsuit filed by me against the government of Syria under an exception in the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act. This law has been used successfully in the past to sue state sponsors of terror who harm United States citizens.

The Syrians have chosen to ignore the courts jurisdiction, which will soon result in a judgment allowing the freezing and liquidation of Syrian assets in the United States. This lawsuit has resulted in multiple threats against me made by irate individuals who are appalled at the prospect of holding Syrian government officials responsible for their void of moral and basic human behavior. My response is that I will not be silenced by these threats.

What does the plight of Zachary Baumel have to do with the current crisis in the Middle East, especially as it pertains to the Syrians and Iranians? The answer lies in our approach to rogue states that openly and sinisterly promote terrorism. These regimes will consistently deny involvement while at the same time continue stonewalling and obstructing.

Radical Arabs view moderation as weakness 

The treatment of these rogue Arab states must be heavy handed and without fear. Once the regime senses moderation by the opposing parties they react with a show of force and violence. Such has been the case in the past and it continues today.

The United States and Iraqi position even hinting at a moderate stance against the Syrians has definitely contributed to the recent assassination of the anti-Syrian Lebanese legislator Pierre Gemayel. We must be clear and unequivocal in recognizing this link between our actions and words and the Syrians.

The radical Arab world views moderation as weakness and impotence. They relish the Jimmy Carters of this world as this approach of carrots and no sticks is how they have built up their regimes.

My personal experience with the Arab world has been quite the opposite. These rogue leaders are most interested in their own fate and not that of their people. The Baumel lawsuit has promised Bashaar Assad that we will continue to hold him responsible for his actions and inactions long beyond his reign within Syria. It is for this reason that the Syrians are angered by my lawsuit.

Our commitment to continuing to hunt him and others connected with the case down and hold them responsible is what will likely eventually move this despot to return Zack Baumel dead or alive before he leaves or is ousted from public life.

I would suggest that the United States government take a similar posture with the Syrians and their close ally Iran. Bashaar Assad walked away from the Harriri investigation by the impotent United Nations without a scratch. This allowed the Syrians to continue terror within Lebanon and Iraq, culminating on this day with the assassination of Pierre Gemayel.

What are needed are more sticks and less carrots as it pertains to the Syrians. Tell Assad that he will be held accountable after his fall much like the fate of Saddam Hussein. I have told the Syrians that any money that we acquire as a result of our lawsuit will be used for good old Middle Eastern “baksheesh” or payments to those whose voices are stifled by his current terror regime within Syria to prosecute this despot.

The United States must make those same statements to Assad. Comply with basic human rights, stop killing your opponents in Lebanon and elsewhere, and cease support of terrorists operating out of your country who are killing Americans, Iraqis and Israelis or pay the ultimate price. This is a stick worth carrying.

Dr. Stuart Ditchek is a board certified pediatrician and author. He is the founder of the Committee for the Release of Zachary Baumel and a childhood friend of Mr. Baumel