Word: assad
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That Damascus and Jerusalem may be ready for some progress is perhaps no great surprise. The Syrians, unlike the internally quarrelsome Palestinian- Jordanian delegation, have an unchallenged leader in President Hafez Assad. His immediate goal is regaining the Golan Heights, captured by Israel in 1967. This mountainous region of hardscrabble farms and fields has about 13,000 Israeli settlers, in contrast to 140,000 such settlers in the West Bank. Despite the Golan's symbolic significance to both sides, its importance to Israeli security in the age of the missile has diminished. Though risking loss of support at home, Israeli...
...determine what the principals are thinking, deputy managing editor John Stacks and Karsten Prager, managing editor of TIME International, joined Cairo bureau chief Dean Fischer, correspondent William Dowell and reporter Lara Marlowe for an interview with Assad at the presidential palace on a mountaintop overlooking Damascus. Later, Fischer, Dowell and reporter Robert Slater met with Rabin at his office in Jerusalem. Almost as important as what the two men said was the moderate, relatively rancor-free tone of their responses. That alone is progress...
...Assad and Rabin discuss the intricacies of peace...
Nevertheless, proceed cautiously on this one. Assad's Syria is still on the list of countries supporting terrorists, and supporting him outright would make your promise to not "coddle" dictators a dubious one. Furthermore, both Syria's and Iran's continued arms buildup require skillful diplomacy to balance each other...
Remember--it is more important for the U.S. to ensure that all negotiations proceed successfully. By allowing the Syrians to duck out, you're giving Assad more time and resources to tighten his grip on Lebanon and achieve regional hegemony. (If Hezbollah continues its attacks on Israeli towns and villages, the chances of this separate peace emerging are decreased somewhat...