Walid al-Moallem: "America's Role Is Central"

In Der Spiegel, here

"...Frankly, we did not expect such an aggression. We don't understand why (it happened) -- especially now that Syria is exerting enormous efforts to tighten its side of the border. Anyway, we are not Georgia. We were seeking wisdom not to escalate the situation.....

We do not want Syria to experience what Iraq has experienced. You remember the big American lies before the war in Iraq. Now they want to see this location, then they want to see three other locations and then, maybe, another four. We are not ready to repeat this. This will harm our national security....

This will depend on America's new vision of the Middle East -- it cannot be a black-and-white one -- and it will depend on Israel’s political will to come to a comprehensive peace agreement. It will also depend on whether we regional powers act accordingly..."