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Source: http://www.jta.org/page_view_story.asp?intarticleid=16095&intcategoryid=3
U.S., Israel Assess Syria's Future
(JTA) Ron Kampeas - The U.S. already is thinking about a post-Assad Syria as a building block in its efforts to spread democracy in the Middle East. But Israel fears Assad's departure could make the situation even worse, though it doesn't believe Assad is going anywhere soon. At a U.S.-Israel strategic dialogue session last week, Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns said Assad's departure could be "transformative" and could even lead to elections. However, Moshe Maoz, a Hebrew University scholar considered Israel's foremost Syria expert, marveled at the American confidence about a peaceful post-Assad Syria. Even if democracy does rise in Syria, there's no way of predicting which party would emerge triumphant, Maoz said.