U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell visited Syria last weekend to demand that the government in Damascus do more to help bring peace to the Middle East. As a key player in the region, Syria's cooperation is essential to any viable peace between Israel and its neighbors. So far, though, Syria has resolutely refused to do more than the minimum, holding out to maximize its bargaining position with Israel. The strategy is outdated. The region's political landscape has changed, and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad would do well to adjust his thinking. Unfortunately, he is unlikely to do so.

The list of grievances against Syria is long and lengthening. The country has long supported and hosted terrorist groups that are hostile to Israel. Mr. Powell specifically demanded the closure of the offices of three groups, Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, General Command. The U.S. also wants Syria to halt its support for Hezbollah. Syria currently has 15,000 troops in Lebanon; most of the world considers that presence an occupying force; Syrians and the Lebanese government consider it a stabilizing element in an unstable country.

More recently, the United States has been angered by reports that Iraqi officials fleeing the U.S. invasion fled to Syria or through it to third countries. At the same time, fighters ready to take up arms against the coalition were said to have entered Iraq through the Syrian border. There are also reports that the Baghdad regime cooperated with Syria in the development of weapons of mass destruction and that much of Iraq's WMD arsenal was transferred to Syrian territory before the fighting began.