Secrets in Syria

(Newser) - After years of frosty relations with George W Bush, the president of Syria is looking for a new diplomatic start with Barack Obama in 2009. In an interview with Washington Post columnist David Ignatius, Bashar al-Assad says he is willing to work with the United States to stabilize Iraq, and that he would consider direct talks with Israel in the future. "We can't turn the clock back," Assad said. More »

(Newser) - The Syrian facility Israel bombed last year looks a lot like a nuclear reactor, UN inspectors said today, though they stopped short of calling it one. The independent investigation found manipulated uranium and features like large cooling pumps that are hallmarks of a nuclear site, the Washington Post reports. Syria denies the claim and suggests the uranium came from Israeli weapons. More »

(Newser) - The US says its attack Sunday on a Syrian village was a warning to Damascus to take more action against Iraq-bound militants. “We are left with no choice but to take matters into our own hands,” an official tells the Times of London. Washington recently praised Syria for curtailing the number of jihadists crossing the border, but sees weapons and money moving with little interference. More »

(Newser) - Special forces carried out a secret raid in Syrian territory Sunday to kill an Iraqi militant, the US acknowledged yesterday. About two dozen American commandos swooped into a village on the Iraq-Syria border and fought a brief gun battle. While Syria condemned the raid as "terrorist aggression," top American officials told the New York Times that the Bush administration was determined to prosecute the war in sovereign nations even without their consent. More »

(Newser) - Syria today established formal diplomatic relations with Lebanon for the first time since the nations won independence in the 1940s, the Christian Science Monitor reports. Bashir al-Assad’s regime sent its first-ever ambassador to Iraq yesterday, moves one expert says show Syria “wants to play ball with the world.” Beirut welcomed today's news, saying relations with Damascus are “more brotherly than ever.” More »

(Newser) - Syria could host batteries of Russian missiles in return for Russian military technology and the reopening of a Soviet-era naval base on its Mediterranean coast, the Times of London reports. President Bashar al-Assad flew to Moscow today to discuss a deal, which may be Russia’s response to the US-Poland missile defense agreement also signed today. More »

(Newser) - If you're in the mood for an intimate dinner with 6,013 of your closest friends, the folks at Guinness World Records have just the place. They've crowned the Damascus Gate in Syria the world's biggest restaurant, the BBC reports. It helps to have 1,800 waiters and a kitchen that runs more like a small factory, capable of dishing out a bowl of hummus every 2 seconds. More »