DAMASCUS, Syria — Syria is encouraging Sunni Arab insurgent groups and former Iraqi Baathists with ties to the leaders of Saddam Hussein's government to organize in Syria, diplomats and Syrian political analysts say.
By building strong ties to those groups, they say, Syria hopes to gain influence in Iraq before the inevitable waning of the American presence there.
"The Syrians feel American power is much weaker in Iraq than in the past," said Ibrahim Hamidi, the Damascus bureau chief of the pan-Arab daily newspaper Al Hayat. "Now they can take a bold public initiative like helping Iraq's opposition organize without much fear, especially since President Bush has become a lame duck."
In July, former Baathists opposed to the government of Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri Kamal al-Maliki scheduled a conference for insurgent groups - including two of the most prominent, the 1920s Revolution Brigades and Ansaral Sunna - at the Sahara Resort outside Damascus.
The meeting followed two in Syria in January that aimed to form an opposition front to the Iraqi government and an announcement in Damascus in July of the formation of a coalition of seven Sunni Arab insurgent groups with the goal of coordinating and intensifying attacks in Iraq to force an American withdrawal. That coalition has since expanded to incorporate other groups.
The July conference was canceled at the last minute, however, indicating the political perils of Syria's developing strategy. It was called off by the government of President Bashar Assad, participants, diplomats and analysts said, primarily because of pressure from Iran.
Iran is Syria's chief ally and a staunch supporter of Iraq's Shiite-dominated government. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iran's president, visited Damascus just days before the conference was to have taken place.
Still, hundreds turned up for the event, including Harith al-Dari, the leader of the Association of Muslim Scholars, a major Sunni opposition group, and other high-profile figures wanted by the Iraqi government. Several said they hoped to reschedule the conference in Syria soon.
"The American project in Iraq is collapsing, and we decided it was important to reach out to fellow Iraqis now," said Nizar Samari, the spokesman for the conference and a former media director for Saddam.
Syria, which the United States accuses of channeling Islamic militants into Iraq, denies any role in organizing groups opposed to the Iraqi government. Analysts and diplomats, however, said they strongly doubted the groups could operate in Syria, a police state, without the government's approval.
Western diplomats and political commentators differed on the extent of influence Damascus could wield over the opposition groups. But they agreed that Syria had been using them to show theUnited States and Iran, often described as the big brother in its longstanding alliance with Damascus, that it had the capacity to play a major role in Iraq's future.
"Iran is the big player in Iraq," Hamidi said, "but it lacks influence on the Baathists and the Sunnis."
That would seem to create a natural opening for Syria, a predominantly Sunni country governed by its own version of the Baath Party. But its relations with the Iraqi Baathists have long been strained. Syria backed Iran in its war with Iraq in the 1980s and supported the United States against Saddam during the Persian Gulf War of 1991.
So Syria is walking a fine line, forging an "enemy of my enemy" relationship with the Iraqi Baathists and insurgents while maintaining an alliance with Tehran. It is a risky strategy that carries the added danger of possibly incurring the wrath of al-Qaida.
"The conference brought together those people with a stake in Iraq and some of those who have not allied with America's biggest foe, al-Qaida," said one political commentator, who asked not to be identified out of concern for his safety, referring to the canceled July conference.
After the U.S. invasion of Iraq, which Damascus strongly opposed, Syria became a haven for high-ranking Baathists from Saddam's government, many of whom were wanted by the American military. Syrian political analysts say they brought millions of dollars stolen from Iraq and were given refuge on condition that they kept a low profile because Syria feared reprisals from American forces in Iraq.
The Iraqi government has in the past accused Damascus of harboring Iraqis who are aiding the insurgency. And Syria makes no secret of its sympathy for the insurgents.
"Syria looks to the resistance as freedom fighters, like George Washington fighting the British," said Mahdi Dahlala, a former Syrian minister of information. "We understand that the rising up against occupation is a natural phenomenon."
Syrian authorities have on occasion turned over wanted Iraqis when they wished to placate Washington or Baghdad. In 2005, Saddam's half brother Sabawi Ibrahim al-Hassan, who was No. 36 of the 55 Iraqis most wanted by the U.S. military, and 29 other former Baathist officials hiding in Syria were handed over to the Iraqi government on suspicion of aiding the insurgency.
But during his visit to Syria in August, al-Maliki urged Assad, to no avail, to hand over more wanted Iraqis widely believed to be hiding in Syria. "Syria is not going to hand over any Iraqis to the Iraqi government unless they produce evidence of wrongdoing," Dahlala said.
Bush administration officials say Syria has had a mixed record recently, taking some steps that American officials see as helpful in Iraq and others that show that Damascus is seeking to build its own influence.
Information for this article was contributed from Washington by David S. Cloud of The New York Times.
Front Section, Pages 17 on 10/07/2007