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From a Wait-and-see Policy to a Rhetoric Anticipation: The Syrian Political Strategy Forced into Redefinition The recent threats uttered by members of the American Administration against Syria seem to justify the worries often manifested by Damascus regarding the risk of a perpetual American military presence in Iraq, which could lead to the political remolding of the entire Middle East. Under Washington’s acute pressure, the Syrian government is compelled to revise its political strategy by progressively, and through the force of circumstances, substituting its traditional wait-and-see policy for a rhetoric which the government hopes will permit to make the most of its political positions on the international scene. The remaining question is whether this pragmatic choice will preserve Syria from future American and Israeli ambitions directed against the country.