Following its stinging at the hands of Hezbollah, Israel is now locked in an internal debate about what to do next (apart from violating the ceasefire and complaining about the makeup of the so far tiny UNIFIL force).
One key question for the Israelis: what to do about Syria, the mostly Sunni country (let by the Allawite Assad clan ... think Mormons to Christianity...) which has opportunistically allied itself with Shiite Iran and which has used its patronage of Hezbollah to continually meddle with Lebanon). The trouble is, Syria is no friend of Israel, but it is a necessary lever for stability in the region. So the debate begins. First, whether to treat Syria as, if not friend, then potential negotiating "partner" ... or foe:
Government officials told Ynet that it is better to have Syrian President Bashar Assad on Israel’s side than continue the current diplomatic stalemate and allow him to arm himself for a possible war in the future.
“Assad may be a bastard, but it is entirely possible that it would be better to have him in our camp,” one official said in response to Internal Security Minister Avi Dichter’s statement that “In exchange for peace with Syria, Israel can leave the Golan Heights.
“We should at least consider this option, and we are already hearing similar opinions from the US State Department,” the official said, adding that “We must also take into account what can happen in case a war with Syria breaks out – either we will get a slap in the face or we will respond with a stronger blow that will topple Assad. And then what will we have in the northern border? The Muslim Brotherhood at best, or an extreme model of Iraq or even Somalia at worst.”
Syria, for its part, is not oblivious to the statements emanating from Jerusalem: Arab media outlets Al-Jazeera and London-based Arabic-language newspaper al-Sharq al-Awsat featured Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni’s appointment of a project manager to map out the different issues between Syria and Israel as their top story.
However, Israeli government officials said Livni’s move was blown way out of proportion and the State Department said that in no way does the appointment point to Israel’s intentions regarding Syria.
Syrian parliament member Faisal Kulthum said in response to Livni’s appointment “After what happened during the sixth war waged by Israel against Lebanon – the rules of the game have changed.”
“Israel must understand that it cannot continue to forcefully conquer territories,” he said.
In Syria, they were glad to hear Dichter's comments. As a rule, since the enthusiastic speech of Syrian president Basher Assad last week, when he said that "Syria has another possibility other than peace – resistance," ...
Syria is the "single most aggressive member of the axis of evil," Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Monday, ruling out a resumption of negotiations with Damascus at this time.
"I am the last person who will say I want to negotiate with Syria," Olmert said in unusually harsh comments. In a visit to northern Israel, Olmert noted that rockets that hit the town in 34 days of Israel-Hizbullah fighting came from Syria.
According to the prime minister, "When Syria stops supporting terrorism, when it stops giving missiles to terror organizations, then we will be happy to negotiate with them."
His comments were made hours after Internal Security Minister Avi Dichter said that he was in favor of withdrawing from the Golan Heights in return for true peace with Syria.
The former head of the Shin Bet told Army Radio, "We have paid similar territorial concessions in the past when we signed peace treaties with Jordan and Egypt."
"Any diplomatic initiative is preferred over war, whether in Syria or Lebanon," Dichter said. "With regards to Lebanon, conditions are even more welcoming than they are with Syria. Lebanon can today begin talks with Israel without the Syrians."
Except that at this stage, the Lebanese hate Israel's guts.
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dim done
done = request.form("done")
if done = "" then
done = "No"
%>
Tell a friend
<%
Else
if request.form("done") = "Yes" then
'sets variables
dim email, sendmail
email = request.form("email")
Set sendmail = Server.CreateObject("CDONTS.NewMail")
'put the webmaster address here
sendmail.From = "webmaster@aspbasics.com"
'The mail is sent to the address entered in the previous page.
sendmail.To = email
'Enter the subject of your mail here
sendmail.Subject = "Check out this website"
'send a specific page or send a site url
dim url
'url = Request.ServerVariables("HTTP_REFERER")
url = "http://www.aspbasics.net"
'This is the content of the message.
sendmail.Body = "Site recommendation from a friend!" & _
vbCrlf & vbCrlf & "A friend has sent you this email and thought you would should check out this site." & _
vbCrlf & url & vbCrlf
'this sets mail priority.... 0=low 1=normal 2=high
sendmail.Importance = 1
sendmail.Send 'Send the email!
response.redirect Request.ServerVariables("HTTP_REFERER")
'Response.write ("Sent to ") & email
End if
End if
%>
"[T]he practice of arbitrary imprisonments, have been, in all ages, the favorite and most formidable instruments of tyranny.' Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 84, August, 1788
