Panetta heads to Mideast; Syria high on the agenda
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US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta began a five-day Mideast trip Sunday to consult with the new Islamist leaders of Tunisia and Egypt and to meet with long-standing allies Israel and Jordan.
High on the agenda at each stop is expected to be the accelerating crisis in Syria, which potentially has grave implications for Israel. The Jewish state fears the unrest will spill over the border and that the long-quiet Golan Heights, captured from Syria in 1967, will become a new Islamist front against Israel. (AP)
