SO EASY TO FORGET HOW YOU GOT INTO THIS MESS:

Make a Deal With Syria and Weaken the Iran-Hezbollah Axis (Martin Van Creveld, Jan 26, 2007, The Forward)

Both Iran and Hezbollah are committed to a radical version of Shi'ite Islam. Since the regime in Damascus is secular, Assad finds him in a rather uncomfortable position. Were Shi'ite fundamentalism to gain a stronger foothold in Syria, it might upset the delicate religious-ethnic balance that for the past quarter-century has kept the country stable. Should the United States evacuate Iraq and some kind of Iranian-guided Shi'ite entity established in Baghdad, Damascus will find itself in a less comfortable situation still.

Add to that the fact that Hezbollah, far from being controlled by Damascus, is to some extent a loose cannon -- one that someday may drag Syria into a war against a much more powerful Israel. Should such a war break out, Tehran's willingness -- and certainly its ability -- to come to Assad's aid will be strictly limited.

All this, of course, does not come as news to Assad, and it is because of his weak position that he has been going out of his way during recent months to call for peace talks with Israel. So far, Israel has rejected the outstretched Syrian hand, either because Washington cast a veto or due to other reasons.

If Washington and Jerusalem's aim, however, is to dismantle the alliance between Syria and Iran and in the process leave Hezbollah high and dry, then perhaps Assad's calls for peace talks deserve a more positive response.

There you go--all Israel has to do is prop up another regime that's hated by its people and thwart four popular governments and everything will be just fine.

Posted by Orrin Judd at January 25, 2007 8:44 PM