August 09, 2006The Key Syrian RoleTHE ADDRESS to turn to in reaching a cease-fire agreement that will enable Israel to achieve some of the goals listed above is not Hizbullah or Iran - and hardly the Lebanese government (which is still influenced by Syria) - but Syria. Therefore Israel must pressure Syria effectively and wisely, using all the means at its disposal in the military, political, economic and diplomatic arenas. But we don't believe in direct, high-level diplomacy (whether quiet or otherwise) with our foes anymore. It's deemed weak-kneed, a quaint pre-9/11 notion, or such. But avoiding these difficult dialogues, particularly in the midst of the increasing carnage in Israel and Lebanon, strikes me as very bad policy. Even somewhat "lazy", to quote Dick Armitage. Note: A few nits to pick with Ganor's op-ed: 1) I think threatening military action on Syria right now would be irresponsible and likely counter-productive, even in combination with carrots and 2) while I agree that Syrian and Iranian interests diverge significantly in large part, two mitigating factors are worth noting: A) to the extent Bashar's minority Alawite status has him keen to contain too strong Sunni influence in Syria--Syrian and Iranian interests converge (but again, only in limited fashion), with regard to Sunni containment strategies and B) we should also remember Damascus has historically been quite close to Teheran given their joint opposition to Saddam Hussein over the course of many decades, which has led to well developed ties between the two countries. Both "A" and "B" above are somewhat glossed over by Ganor. Don't miss this additional view from Israel calling for discussions with Syria. Unlike increasingly fanatical neo-cons who are rabidly calling for the war to be expanded to "Syran" (hilarious!), and related sophomoric and hyperbolic fare, it is worth noting that sane Israelis (who actually have to live in the neighborhood) aren't being as clownishly jingoistic about expanding the adventure to new theaters. |
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