Israel played a key behind-the-scenes role in bringing about the September 2013 U.S.-Russia deal that led to the dismantlement of Syria's chemical weapons stockpile, according to former Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. and current Kulanu MK Michael Oren's new book, "Ally: My Journey Across the American-Israeli Divide." The idea upon which the deal was based was originally proposed by Israel's then-Strategic Affairs Minister Yuval Steinitz, the book said. Steinitz confirmed this in an interview with The New York Times earlier this week. In August 2013, the U.S. and other Western governments blamed Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime for the use of chemical weapons against civilians in the suburbs of Damascus. Deciding that a red line had been crossed, a coalition led by the U.S. and France threatened to conduct airstrikes against the Assad regime. Around that same time, Steinitz gave a radio interview in which he said Israel had proof that the Assad regime was responsible for the chemical weapons attacks. In a subsequent meeting with a Russian diplomat, Steinitz and Yosef Kuperwasser, the director general of the Strategic Affairs Ministry, talked about the threatened Western airstrikes against the Assad regime. "We said to ourselves, 'What use will it be if 50 or 100 Tomahawks will land on half-empty bases in Syria-'" Steinitz told The New York Times. "And if it will be a one-time strike, it won't deter use of chemical weapons. "Then it occurred to us. The best thing will be Russia and the United States will collaborate together in order to dismantle the chemical stockpiles. ... For the Russians it will be good; all the world mocked them for supporting a brutal dictator who uses chemical weapons. For the Americans it will be good because the real aim of Obama is to ensure there will be no further use of chemical weapons; this is much better than just a strike. Assad will not be able to resist because he is so dependent on Russia. "The Syrian people will not suffer any more chemical attacks. And Israel will get rid of a very serious strategic threat that existed since the 1970s." According to Steinitz, the Russian diplomat said of the idea, "This is very serious; I'm going to deliver it today." Shortly thereafter, "the Americans and the Russians began to promote this idea together, and we were sitting aside," Steinitz said. "They never asked if they can give us credit, and we never asked them to give us credit," Steinitz said. "Until today, it was a secret."
