ROAD TO DAMASCUS OPEN THROUGH TALKS.

Byline: STEVEN B. JACOBS and NAZIR KHAJA Local View

WE recently returned from a trip to the Middle East as part of an interfaith peace delegation led by Rev. Jesse Jackson. Soon after the cease-fire in Lebanon began, we undertook the peace mission to urge all sides to honor the cease-fire, to facilitate the exchange of prisoners, and to add our voice to the United Nations' appeal for Israel to end the land and sea blockade of Lebanon.

We met the top leadership of Syria, Lebanon, Israel and Palestine. The meeting with Syria's President Assad highlighted the need of face-to-face dialogue, even with those whom we think of as our enemies.

Assad seemed very candid in his meeting with us, which lasted two hours. He complained bitterly of the U.S.-imposed isolation and no-talk policy. Despite the Bush administration's hostile attitude toward him, he seemed to want recognition and dialogue with this country. He rejected the notion that his government was sponsoring terrorism, and he insisted that he wanted peace and a just settlement with Israel.

When we asked him about the impact on future generations growing up in the area of violence and turmoil, he responded openly. He spoke of his 5-year-old son, who sees scenes of violence on television and is unable to comprehend it. Upon seeing an Israeli flag being burned, his son, in childlike fashion, said that he would like to do the same -- with no understanding of what that act meant!

There was obvious concern in Assad's voice that, without the active pursuit of peace, the future of generations to come is in jeopardy. He repeatedly condemned religious extremism and terrorism, and pointed out that Christians, Muslims and Jews are all living together in Syria without fighting each other. He readily responded to our request to visit a synagogue, and arranged it.

The United States government has for a long time pointed fingers at Syria for supporting terrorism in general. Our ambassador has been withdrawn, the embassy is under charge d'affaires, and there is no talk between Syria and the U.S.

Shortly after the meeting with Assad, we met with our charge d'affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Damascus to convey what seemed to us Assad's earnest appeal to engage in a purposeful dialogue with our government. The charge d'affaires all but dismissed it, reiterating our government's continued policy of isolating and not talking with him.

Ironically, this same embassy building in Damascus was attacked two weeks later by terrorists. Assad's army dispelled the attack, killed the terrorists, and in so doing lost one of its own soldiers, who died defending the U.S. Embassy!

If our government is serious about bringing about a democratic transformation in the Middle East, it must recognize that the region's people have a right to choose their own leaders. Once they have exercised that choice, we must constructively engage with them, even if the choice is distasteful to us.

We must believe that in any conflict it is a moral imperative that we engage our enemies in negotiations in order to prevent war and destruction.

Either we talk and not fight, or we fight and don't talk.

The road to Damascus is open!