will 'peace' based on retreat be better or last longer than the quiet you enjoy with syria since 1973-especially if lebanon remains unstable as it appears ?

Israel cannot be reconciled with the Mafia regime of Assad. Syria will wait till the moment that it sees chances of defeating Israel. Syria cannot efford good relations with Israel. The Assad family has established a hereditary dynasty shored up by repression within, and confrontation and terror abroad. The rule of the Assads is not aimed at improving the lot of their people or forwarding a particular ideology. They changed ideology from secular Arabism to a seemingly impossible confection of pan-Arabism and Islamist extremism because it was expedient to do so. Hafez Assad came to power following a dizzying succession of coups that had made Syria the most unstable regime in the Middle East. The Assads are seated atop a bucking bronco. They are members of the Allawi religious minority who are usually not even considered to be Muslims. They rule a country of disparate minorities with a potential for chaos almost as great as that of Iraq. The radical Muslim Brotherhood is always there, threatening to take over the country by fair means or foul, and the usual Ba'th party rivalries that have plagued all such regimes are also a threat to Assad family rule. Their rule is not about improving living standards for Syria. Syrian living standards have fallen behind the none-too-glamorous ones of Jordan or Egypt. It is not about democracy, a Western luxury Syria can't afford, according to Bashar Assad. The Assad regime is about stability, and it is about money and power for the Assad family. The regime is comparable in every way to the fictional Corleone Mafia family. Prosperity and peace would ruin the Assad regime. Therefore, Western assumptions that Syrian leadership must want peace and prosperity are mistaken, and it is pointless to "engage" Syria in dialogue except insofar as it is possible to confront them with their violations and insist that they mend their ways as explained at : http://xrl.us/bjcsd The Terrorist State of Syria. Israel cannot be reconciled with the Mafia regime of Assad. Syria will wait till the moment that it sees chances of defeating Israel. Syria cannot efford good relations with Israel. The Assad family has established a hereditary dynasty shored up by repression within, and confrontation and terror abroad. The rule of the Assads is not aimed at improving the lot of their people or forwarding a particular ideology. They changed ideology from secular Arabism to a seemingly impossible confection of pan-Arabism and Islamist extremism because it was expedient to do so. Hafez Assad came to power following a dizzying succession of coups that had made Syria the most unstable regime in the Middle East. The Assads are seated atop a bucking bronco. They are members of the Allawi religious minority who are usually not even considered to be Muslims. They rule a country of disparate minorities with a potential for chaos almost as great as that of Iraq. The radical Muslim Brotherhood is always there, threatening to take over the country by fair means or foul, and the usual Ba'th party rivalries that have plagued all such regimes are also a threat to Assad family rule. Their rule is not about improving living standards for Syria. Syrian living standards have fallen behind the none-too-glamorous ones of Jordan or Egypt. It is not about democracy, a Western luxury Syria can't afford, according to Bashar Assad. The Assad regime is about stability, and it is about money and power for the Assad family. The regime is comparable in every way to the fictional Corleone Mafia family. Prosperity and peace would ruin the Assad regime. Therefore, Western assumptions that Syrian leadership must want peace and prosperity are mistaken, and it is pointless to "engage" Syria in dialogue except insofar as it is possible to confront them with their violations and insist that they mend their ways as explained at : http://xrl.us/bjcsd

Isael is in no position to impose conditions on Syria.Gholan will always remain Syrian terrotery and sooner or later it will be reunited with its mother land.Israel must realize that Syria ,like all states,base its relations with others on what serves its interest best ,and no power could alter this course. It would be like stipulating that Israel should, prior to establishing normal relations with Syria. sever ties with its American bonanza.Of course, Syria understands the importance of such ties to the existance of Israel, without which there will be no place for such an entity called Israel. Peace negotitions should concentrate on bilateral concerns and that of importance to the safty of the region.Othe issues would be dealt with in due time.The one dollar question; Is Israel mature enough to handle it own affairs???

You write, and I quote: "we have already ceded in advance the entire Golan, including the Sea of Galilee's eastern shore (which by the way, never belonged to Syria)." Unquote. What never belonged to Syria, the Golan or the eastern shore? Well of course, Mr Shoval, both never belonged to Syria, and I would have hoped that you would be more explicit and explain the facts to the Israeli citizen who, because of the conspirancy of silence is unaware of the history of his own country. So, with your permission, I shall do it for you: the Palestine Mandate was granted to Great Britain at the San Remo Conferece in 1920 for the REconstitution of the Jewish National Home in Palestine, a territory that included the GOLAN. This decision was confirmed by the League of Nations in 1922. The Golan Heights were illegally and in total breach with article 5 of the resolutions of the League, given away by the British in 1923 to the French Mandate of Syria. This treacherous territorial transfer to the French by the British had as sole interest to secure Mosul's oil fields to Irak. Israel's decision to impose its laws on the Golan Heights, on December 14, 1981, RIGHTED the WRONG that was committed by the British in March 1923.. The "Golan Heights", as they are known today, were never part of Syrian Real Estate, and Syria cannot make any standing claim in an International Court.

Sounds kind of Freudian, what are you trying to say here?