President Bush said facilitating the return of a captured Israeli soldier would help Syria in American eyes. Bush was asked at a news conference Wednesday what would persuade him to work with Syria, a nation his administration has shunned for its sponsorship of terrorism. Bush listed helping Iraq succeed; not interfering in Lebanon; and ending sponsorship of anti-Israel terrorism. “Help Israel get back the prisoner that was captured by Hamas,” he said, referring to Cpl. Gilad Shalit, captured by gunmen affiliated with the terrorist group in a June 25 cross-border raid. “Don’t allow Hamas and Hezbollah to plot attacks against democracies in the Middle East.” Syria allows Hamas to headquarter in Damascus and runs weapons to Hezbollah, the Lebanese terrorist group that launched a war with Israel this summer.
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