[Cinnamon Girl]

And just how long would it take Syria to build up a mountain of weapons in the Golan were Israel to "give it back?"

Notice the Ha'aretz equation: Sharon is dissing a sure peace by not considering handing over the Golan.

Giving Syria the Golan is like giving Michael Moore a box of dounuts and telling him not to eat it.

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[risk]

What would Syria's political leadership do to hold power if it couldn't rely on a strategy of hatemongering for Israel?

[montag813]

Sharon: Israel not prepared to withdraw from Golan Heights in exchange for peace deal with Syria

Uh, perhaps I was hallucinating at the time, but didn't Israel ANNEX the Golan Heights a few decades ago? If so, then the statement above is akin to Bush saying "we are not prepared to withdraw from Texas for a migrant deal with Mexico".

This is utter insanity for Israel to even be considering "peace" talks with Saddam's arch ally in return for giving up the most strategic land in all of Israel. At this rate I will be surprised if there even is a State of Israel in 25 years. The Israeli will to self-destruction is breathtaking.

[richardtavor]

Excellent analogy CG....Having spent a lot of time in the Golan, the thought of turning over strategic parts of the Golan (or even one square inch) is reprehensible. In the Mas'ada area near Mt. Hermon, you can see the bombed out Syrian positions (Pill Boxes)--with some of the tanks still in them. Of interest, the road to these implacements have been cleared of mines, but the surrounding land (both North of and South of the road) is covered with Syrian Mines. No doubt, if Syria is given one inch of this area, they would launch harrassing attacks against Israel, just as Hizbollah does from the Shabaa Farms area to the West.

[AlbionGirl]

Giving up the Golan would be equiavalent to saying 'yes we're ready to be pushed into the sea.'

Sharon knows what giving up the Golan means, and he should steadfastedly (sp?; word?) educate Israelis (if necessary) about why it's so strategically vital to be in possession of that area; and continue to refuse to participate in some such self-annihilation scheme.

Syria, Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon and Egypt can go straight to hell: the faster, the better!