JUST IN CASE...:

A Syrian-Israeli Breakthrough? (David Ignatius, August 27, 2008, Washington Post)

Of all the wild cards in the Middle East deck, this one may be the most intriguing: Syrian President Bashar al-Assad appears ready for direct peace talks with Israel, if the United States will join France as a co-sponsor.

That's the word from senior advisers to Assad, who spoke with me here this week. The same assessment comes from top French officials in Paris. A direct meeting would raise the Syrian-Israeli dialogue to a new level; so far, it has been conducted indirectly, through Turkey.

The Syrians would like to see a clear signal from the Bush administration that it supports the peace process and that the United States is prepared to join the French as "godfather" of the talks. But Syrian officials are pessimistic and say they doubt that the administration, which has sought to isolate and punish Syria, will change its policy in the few months it has left. That would disappoint some of Assad's advisers, who prefer to move quickly, rather than wait for a new U.S. administration to organize its foreign policy priorities.

...you thought there was any danger that the Realists would learn anything from Iraq. Fortunately, Maverick is unlikely to prop up a Ba'athist dictator and the Unicorn Rider is already seen as so weak that he can ill afford to begin an administration by doing so.

Posted by Orrin Judd at August 27, 2008 12:25 PM