Under normal circumstances, the latest spat between Iraq and Syria would not be overly worrying. The two neighbors have a historically testy relationship. But in the wake of last month’s horrific bomb blasts in Baghdad that killed over 100 people, there is cause for concern. After Iraq demanded that Damascus turn over two Iraqis living in Syria who are believed to be part of the attack in Baghdad, Iraqi authorities sent additional national police brigades to the border with Syria, and Syria and Iraq each recalled their ambassadors from the other country at Iraq’s request. Damascus has denied the charges that it is harboring insurgents.
History says the rift is nothing new. During Saddam Hussein’s 1979-2003 rule, Iraq and Syria were governed by rival branches of the Arab nationalist Baath Party and ties between them were characterized by mutual hostility. Although diplomatic relations were restored in 2006, the overthrow of Saddam saw many of his former allies flee to Syria, renewing tensions between the countries. A large number of Iraqi dissidents from the banned Baath Party live in Syria, as well as Iraqi Army officers who came to Syria after the army was disbanded after the US invasion of Iraq in 2003. According to Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki, this group includes the two wanted suspects in last month’s bombing, Mohamed Younis Al-Ahmed, a former colonel in the Iraqi Army, who now leads one wing of the Baath Party in Iraq, and Sattam Al-Farhan, former lieutenant in the Iraqi Army. These men support the Iraqi armed resistance. Syria hosts them and monitors their activities closely.
The presence of an opposition to Baghdad in Damascus and the presence of refugees in both Syria and Iraq have long affected the two countries. Since the 1950s, there have been political differences and coups in both countries, followed by waves of asylum-seekers. The governments of both countries have continued throughout the decades to demand that their opponents be handed over but neither country has ever responded to the demands. After 2003, the exodus of Iraqis to Syria increased, including a significant number of former Iraqi Army officers. Iraqi refugees in Syria number about 1.5 million. The issue of extradition of political refugees to Iraq crosses Syria’s red line, particularly since most of them are members of the Iraqi Baath Party, rival to the Syrian Baath Party.
But this latest dispute could lead to economic losses, such as a continuing delay in the agreement on sharing the waters of the Tigris and Euphrates — allowing Turkey exclusivity to the water of the rivers; delaying the extension of a new pipeline to transport Iraqi oil through Syria; the postponement of the completion of transport infrastructure and transit of Iraqi goods imported via Syrian ports; and the establishment of industrial free zones between the two countries.
In efforts to defuse tensions Turkey’s foreign minister has shuttled between Baghdad and Damascus, carrying messages between the two capitals, and Secretary-General of the Arab League Amr Moussa quickly made calls to Baghdad and Damascus in order to contain the crisis and confine it to an Arab context. However, the wounds of the victims of the string of bombings that struck Iraq’s capital on Aug. 19 are still open and the accusations as to who was responsible are still flying.
