Word: baraker
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...Israel, peace with Syria means relinquishing the Golan Heights, a strategically vital buffer zone that saved the country during the 1973 War. As a former army chief-of-staff and as Israel's most decorated soldier, no one understands the value of the Golan more than Prime Minster Ehud Barak. Why then are Syria and Israel now so eager to cross the Rubicon...
...final nudge towards ending Syria's state of war with Israel arose from Barak's threat to unilaterally withdraw Israeli forces from Lebanon. For nearly two decades, Syrian-backed guerrillas have bled Israeli troops stationed in south Lebanon. The prospect of pacifying south Lebanon by curbing these guerrillas has been Syria's most effective means of compelling Israel to return the Golan Heights. Barak's repeated commitment to withdraw his troops by July 2000 threatened to deprive Syria of its most powerful point of leverage. Under pressure to act while he still possessed his Lebanon trump card, Assad has opted...
Ever the general who views all matters through the lens of security, Barak sees peace with Syria as a calculated risk that will ultimately improve Israel's overall strength...
Having dropped its demand that Israel publicly commit to a Golan withdrawal beforethe commencement of any talks, Syria insisted that this be the first item of business. But with one eye on a domestic political base skeptical about retreating from the strategic plateau, Prime Minister Ehud Barak was more interested in making security arrangements the top priority. The U.S.-brokered compromise involved the creation of four commissions that would meet simultaneously to discuss borders, security arrangements, water supplies and normalization of relations. While the commissions on security and normalization have started their work, those looking at borders and water haven...
...Israel and Syria can't even agree on what issues to disagree on. Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk Al-Sharaa on Monday did accomplish the rather difficult feat of completing the first day of talks hosted by President Clinton in Shepherdstown, West Virginia without actually meeting face to face. Although the U.S. has imposed a news blackout to create a more conducive environment for a week of diplomacy, State Department spokesman James Rubin said Monday that the two sides had not yet agreed on the agenda for the talks. Syria wants to begin with territorial issues...