"To the east there is the Resistance in Iraq, to the west there is the Resistance in Lebanon and to the south there is the Resistance of the Palestinian people. We, in Syria, are at the heart of all these events!” -Basher Al-Assad, 10th President of Syria (April 30, 2007) Full

I won’t write much just thought I’d get everyone ready for the Syrian conflict.

A Clean Break (1996)

Syria challenges Israel on Lebanese soil. An effective approach, and one with which American can sympathize, would be if Israel seized the strategic initiative along its northern borders by engaging Hizballah, Syria, and Iran, as the principal agents of aggression in Lebanon, including by: striking Syria’s drug-money and counterfeiting infrastructure in Lebanon, all of which focuses on Razi Qanan. Paralleling Syria’s behavior by establishing the precedent that Syrian territory is not immune to attacks emanating from Lebanon by Israeli proxy forces. Striking Syrian military targets in Lebanon, and should that prove insufficient, striking at select targets in Syria proper.

IN THE NEWS

RAMAT GAN, Israel (AP) -- The U.S. ambassador to Israel on Monday said the United States is not pressuring Israel to rebuff Syrian offers of peace negotiations, denying reports that Washington has been urging Israel to shun Syria. Full

Paul Michael Wihbey and Ilan Berman wrote in 2000:

The current freeze in negotiations between Israel and Syria underscores the fact that water is rapidly becoming a crucial — if not the most significant — strategic issue between nations in the Middle East. According to Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, speaking on Israeli television, water was one of the three key issues that stood in the way of an agreement in Geneva last weekend.

As policy planners struggle to revive the Syrian-Israeli dialogue once again, resolving the topic of water remains the most difficult task for the two countries. It is also the most important. The way the water issue plays out will have major repercussions not only for Israel, but the region as a whole. The ensconcement of Syria on the Golan would allow Damascus not only to virtually dictate terms to Jerusalem, but exert influence over Amman and create a rift in the Israeli-Turkish military partnership as well. Given the signals made by Israel's continued efforts to reopen talks with Syria, Jerusalem has not yet understood the geopolitical significance of water to its relations with its neighbors. As a result, Mr. Assad has been given an incentive to continue to apply the appropriate pressure, diplomatic as well as military to achieve his goals. Full