Assad senior taught all his sons to hate israel, to hate it. Only a cold peace on the border could be arranged. Bashir assad has thrown all kinds of christ killer rhetoric at israael. Barak and even rabin were tempted by syria as if they could quiet the palestinian people which they cannot. The golan arrangement for 40 years has been reasonable and there is no reason to change it. Syria is armed to the teeth, with rockets and chemicals and germs.Israel knocked out its nuclear plant. So there is nothing to gain from some deal with syria. Israel cannot afford to give up its historic land of golan not today, not forever. USA can provide material support and that's it. They did not help in 67, remember the blockade, did not help in 73, in fact prevented a preemptive attack but did supply materiel. They did not help in 82, 2006 and last year gaza war. Clinton's gurantees are worthless. Who in their right mind wants to protect UAE from iran? Olmert and livni showed how they kissed US rear ends. That's all they did especially olmert. I would depend on israel and the jews and not the US, who now are selling israel out. Obama is emotionally attached to rashidi and the arabs which is his right, ie the struggle. Olmert and his cowardly portrayal of the jewish miser and crook has only made israel the object of ridicule.

This is a wrong move by the naive Obama administration. Building relationship with a country that has slaughtered Lebanese politicians, sheltered and supported Islamist-Jihadist terrorists who murdered 240 American Marines in Beirut and other Americans and Israelis, and sent Islamist-Jihadist terrorists to kill American forces in Iraq. Syria is also a tentacle of Iran that is hellbent on annihilating Israel with nuke. This should send a signal to Israel that the Obama administration cannot be trusted as friend and ally anymore. And if the Republicans were smart, they should be attacking Obama on his appeasement to Islamist-Jihadism which is America's number one enemy in the world!

Irrespective of the Arab-Israeli conflict and Israel’s existence, the ties with Iran constitutes – for the ruthless Assad regime – an indispensable financial, diplomatic and military means of survival. The Syria-Iran axis bolsters Assad’s policies on the most critical fronts: Domestic, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Turkey, Russia and the USA. Assad’s fundamental interests conflict with fundamental US values and interests. More about the Assad family at : http://xrl.us/bjcsd

You say: " Assad senior taught all his sons to hate israel ". You are very wrong. Assad senior did not have to do that because Israeili arrogance was sufficient to do that!