|
Trending Topics
|
Source: http://www.jpost.com/index.html
Watch the Syrians, Very Carefully
[Jerusalem Post] Mordechai Nisan - The war in Lebanon has sparked considerable Syrian political bombast directed at Israel. The Arab culture code instinctively perceives weakness and reacts to it with battle-ready arrogance. Syria does not have to definitively win a war against Israel to acquire major political gains. In October 1973, boldly initiating war and undermining Israel's military self-confidence were sufficient benefits for Syria. Syrian aggression designed to "recover" the Golan Heights from Israeli "occupation," even without a conclusive military victory for Damascus, could nonetheless politically unfreeze the standoff between Syria and Israel, prompting Israeli territorial concessions. Assad's threat to open an insurgent guerrilla front on the Golan cannot be dismissed as haughty bravado. The writer lectures on the Middle East at Hebrew University.