'Mutual respect' for a Damacus despot

Opinion Journal:

Since taking power nine years ago, Syrian strongman Bashar Assad has: turned his country into a safe haven and transit corridor for jihadists en route to Iraq; funneled sophisticated munitions to Hezbollah and probably Hamas; sought to build an illicit nuclear reactor with North Korean help; mostly failed to liberalize Syria’s economy and resisted liberalizing its politics; publicly declared that Israel would never “become a legitimate state even if the peace process is implemented”; and ruled while Syrians have been implicated by a U.N. investigator in the 2005 assassination of Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri.

So, naturally, President Obama has made Syria a prime target for diplomacy as part of his new Axis of Engagement.

The President has already restored full diplomatic ties with Damascus that were cut off after the Hariri assassination. Last week, State Department envoy George Mitchell visited Mr. Assad to discuss improved military-to-military ties and easing some sanctions, though others remain in place. Now the Administration believes it can entice Mr. Assad into abandoning some of his bad habits, like sponsoring terrorist groups, meddling in his neighbors’ internal affairs and maintaining close ties with Iran.

“We received assurances that the relations between the two countries should resume on the basis of mutual interests and most importantly of mutual respect,” Syrian deputy foreign minister Fayssal Mekdad told the Journal last week. “We really welcome such a new approach.”

Damascus’s delight is no surprise, but the chances of success here are somewhat lower than Hugo Chavez becoming a capitalist....

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The fantasy of flipping the Syrians is a bipartisan one for diplomats and former diplomats. In the real world the chances are pretty remote that Syria will find it in its interest to quit backing our enemies. They are not backing them because we are not engaged with Syria, but we have not been engaged because Syria is backing them.