Posted on 05/03/2007 10:31:23 AM PDT by Fred
WASHINGTON -- Faced with the biggest military buildup by Syria along its border since the 1973 Middle East war, Israel is privately reassuring its Arab neighbor that it does not seek a confrontation, Israeli Ambassador Sallai Meridor said Wednesday.
"We use every effort to send messages to Syria we have no offensive intention," Meridor said.
Mostly steering clear of the political turmoil at home, which he said was not appropriate for him to discuss publicly, Meridor nonetheless said Israel would continue "to do everything humanly possible to enhance peace" opportunities with the Palestinians.
"We are trying to create opportunities for the Palestinians to make peace," he said.
Offering to evacuate thousands of Jewish settlers on the West Bank and make other concessions, Meridor said: "I do not know a country in the world which would risk as much" for peace.
Doesn't sound like the old Isreal.
I would have expected something like "Syria will be reduced to a grease spot if it starts a war with Isreal.
That's not the message Israel should be sending. They should be sending that they'll pound the Syrians into the ground, and then salt that ground, should they make a single move to retake the Golan, or their Hzb'Allah allies continue to rocket Israeli cities. That might, might that is, get Assads attention.
Whatever they say publicly, privately they should be telling the Syrians that the Assad family will not survive a confrontation, and Damascus will be occupied if Syria initiates hostilities.
He just guaranteed they'll be a conflict.
Have them build up along the Israeli border, get Israel to do something to distract them, then have the 4th ID roar over the Iraqi border and snap them in the back!
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