The United States has rejected out-of-hand Syrian President Assad's proposal yesterday that the U.S. mediate between Israel and Syria. Territorial discussions are not a part of these "negotiations." The subject of the negotiations, interestingly enough, will be a necessary reduction in Syria's ties to Iran, and a necessary reduction in Syria's meddling in Lebanon's affairs, along with a strong recommendation that Syria stop seeking to become a nuclear power and acting as a conduit of arms to Hamas and Hizbollah. There will be a big "or else" tacked on ..... Syria is in no position to refuse. Either Turkey or Israel is fully capable of invading Syria a little after breakfast and being home comfortably before lunch. And the U.S. isn't interested in pandering to Assad's pretensions. Sweet.

but once again, what the hell will happen when Syria talks about the Golan heights and Netanyahu is a hostage to the Israel parliament?

The Syrians sure as hell didn't damp down their efforts with anti-Turkish groups because of "negotiations". The Turks massed a great deal of armor & troops on the Syrian border, and made it quite clear they were going to roll in & clean house unless the Syrians handed over that big-time Kurdish terrorist leader , and put an end to openly indulging those groups. The Syrians were so spooked, they complied with all Turkish demands. It always seems to come down to a matter of who is the meanest cat with the sharpest sword in terms of fundamentally changing affairs in the ME. Raw muscle is always the ultimate ME arbiter.

i talked to a friend of mine who is turkish and still has family there. she is married to a turk muslim, but she is jewish. they have a modern household and practice no islam, but judaism. she told me that the erdogan government has ruined turkey's economy and freedomand that he is radicalizing the turks and wants to influence "ataturk's army" which is secular and swore to protect secularism in turkey, and eventually, with the upcoming election in turkey, erdogan's gpvernment and islam with it will disappear. they will be voted out. almost 80% of the country wants islam out of govwernmenr and are very unhappy with the way the country is going. the islamists that you have seen on the streets demonstrating against israel were fanatics that support erdogan, but they are few in numbers. most turks, she said, love israel and view jews and israelis very favorably. watch the election. erdogan will be out! this year!

Now when he realized his mistakes exposing Turkey's exposure to its own sins (Armenians, Kurds, Greeks, Cyprus, Iskandur/Hatay) he is sending a low level diplomat to try to mend what it cannot be mended.

note the language... In the neighborhood we live in – Israel could not find a better friend than Turkey," Right, the neighborhood Israel lives in is filled with duplicitous, misogynistic, homophobic, Jew-hating, zealots who ascribe their philosophy to that of a pedophile and who believe in beheadings like they were going out of style. I say, no thanks. Are there any good prison inmates that Israel could befriend instead?

from firing at Israel.

With a friend like Abdulla Gull - who needs enemies?

Israel occupied Lebanon until Hamas routed them. Israel occupies Palestine and Hamas is in the process of doing the same. If after 34days of cluster bombing Lebanon to rescue Shalit your IOF failed in that Shalit is still held captive and if after 23days of bombing Gaza to force Hamas to stop lobbing rockets across the border you failed there as well because Hamas is still launching rockets across the border. Yer despite all this you still continue to act like a turkey begging for Thanksgiving. Israel, has no friend, not Mubarak, not Erdogan, not Putin not the South Africans and your sole defender is bogged in quagmire Iraq. Talk peace!

the Altar of Zeus they sold to Germany and cannot get back. That is Satan's Throne of Pergamos at the Pergamon Museum in the Tiergarten in Berlin where Obama gave a speech near last year to honor his "father", Satan, in the opinion of some. When Turkey had the Throne of Satan in Pergamos, they headed a Caliphate called the Ottoman Empire which they want to resurrect the glory days of. The image of Daniel in the Bible that showed the world kingdoms that encompassed the Holy Land, the head was of gold, Babylon and Nebuchaddnezar. The arms were of silver, Media-Persia (Iraq-Iran). The torso was brass, Greece and Rome. The legs were iron which could be part Rome and part Byzantine empires OR the two legs of the Islamic Caliphate, Shia and Sunni legs of Islam. However that unfolds with the ten toes of iron (Islam?) and clay (EU?) or iron (Shia) and clay (Sunni), Turkey will be a key player in deceiving Israel into signing a peace treaty Daniel called the covenant with death. When Jerusalem is divided by that treaty, it will be three and a half years before two thirds of Israel is slaughtered in an invasion, probably by an Islamic Caliphate. Turkey is mostly Islamic and Islamics want the destruction of Israel and the deaths of Jews. That is a pillar of their religion even though a watered down version is peddled to the West. Will Europe turn Islamic or will the Crescent that is forming be separate from Europe? Many answers will unfold as time passes.

Israel never occupied Lebanon..It was a military operation to stop the Katyushas raining in and rid South Lebanon of the PLO. It was Hizbullah and not Hamas that didn't rout us although claiming they did..the usual delusional BS . As for friends in this world, Lydia...do you play chess?

friends, never were.

You cannot make peace with people bent on your destruction. You cannot make peace with terrorists. It destroys their raison d'etre, and consequently their sole purpose in life. Besides, if Israel is a nation-state, not a fractious rabble. Nation-states do not "negotiate" with terrorist rabble. On another note, I am quite pleased to hear that Australia will in all likelihood decline to attend the Durban II "conference." Go Oz!!!!

Uh, no thanks, Mr. Erdogan. Why don't you go see if Kurdistan will mediate peace talks between you and Armenia? When you're all done there, do come back and say hello.

israel withdraw from lebanon in the 90's and from the gaza strip 8 years ago, get your facts stra8. and the onlly reason turkey is kissing up israel it's due to the fact that turkey wants to be part of the Euro, just businnes without any pleasure.

Hamas does not want any Jew between the Meditterenean and the Jordan. Talk peace with Hamas, believe in their words and the next day, you will find yourself lying down with your throat cut. Do not forget the massacre of Hebron. Good Arab neighbors cut the throats of their best jewish friends. A bon entendeur SALUT.

you saw our true colours on the TVs...ah then its not so hard to see Turkey like an enemy for İsrael... and your comments about kurdistan really make me laughing.dont you see the truth? dont you understand why Turkey is so afraid of kurdistan name...North Iraq Kurdısh Republik is more than an autonomous system.İran has got a state in the name of Kurdistan but the country which has got 20 million kurdish population is Turkey. why people? because for persians or arabians kurds are not an important problem because kurds are muslim as they are but for us for turks religions always come after that ; we are turkısh .now im wondering what am i faced with ? anti turkism? do you know what are you fighting with?