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Israel Eyes Turmoil in Syria

(Washington Post) Joel Greenberg - In a recent interview, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was asked whether it was in his country's interest to see the downfall of the government of Syria's President Bashar al-Assad. Netanyahu replied, "We'd like to see everywhere, including in Syria, genuine reforms for democracy, genuine emergence of democracy. That's no threat to any of us." Syria has long been a bitter enemy of Israel. Yet it has also been a reliable foe, keeping its cease-fire lines with Israel quiet for decades. A power shift in Damascus could alter those dynamics. Dore Gold, a former foreign policy adviser to Netanyahu who heads the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, noted, "Israel views a lot of the current developments through the prism of the Iranian threat....It would be unfortunate if Iran becomes the beneficiary of the developments across the Middle East. Iran could face a tremendous strategic loss if the Syrian regime falls and is replaced by a more Western-oriented leadership." Given the current turmoil, Israel "will have to err on the side of caution given the total uncertainty it faces, from the Turkish border down to the Suez Canal."
2011-04-26 00:00:00
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