NPR's Daniel Schorr also seems to have accepted that the Syrian site was nuclear.

Smirks worked for Bush, so why not McCain?

http://turcopolier.typepad.com/sic_semper_tyrannis/2008/03/ignatius-on-ann.html

Ignatius:

"It was Rice who insisted that this militant Islamic group be allowed to participate in the January 2006 Palestinian legislative elections, over strong protests from both Israelis and moderate Palestinians. Rice argued that the Islamic militancy represented by Hamas had to be given a political voice. But when Hamas won and predictably continued to reject Israel's right to exist, the United States had no coherent follow-up strategy. A new article in Vanity Fair says that Washington secretly egged on the rival Fatah movement to stage a coup in Gaza, but Hamas moved first with a countercoup that expelled Fatah security forces. The Hamas militants kept firing their rockets, goading the Israelis toward the reinvasion of Gaza they launched Feb. 27 that nearly scuttled the post-Annapolis peace process.

What's needed is some sort of cease-fire between Hamas and Israel. But Washington and Jerusalem stoutly insist that they will never negotiate with a terrorist organization. Meanwhile, they are quietly blessing an Egyptian effort to broker just such a cease-fire package. I'm sorry, but that is a lame strategy -- letting others do secretly what you refuse to do openly. "

Lang:

"Clearly, Rice is not competent to run American diplomacy and foreign policy. Did she really think that HAMAS would acknowledge Israel as a state once they were in power? What fool thought that? It must have been someone with a political science background who naturally (following the classic thought of that discipline) believed that the Islamc fervor and fanaticism of HAMAS was really just a "mask" for whatever it is that REALLY bothers them."

Can you imagine Bin Laden not saying something about Sunnis and Shias killing each other? That would have been an affront to him just as much as our military bases in Saudi Arabia.

Hardly.

http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/%5Cpapers10%5Cpaper941.html

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_10-1-2005_pg3_1

Via http://turcopolier.typepad.com/

http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/english/turkey/8800883.asp?gid=231&sz=40500

Turkey plans to send envoy to Israel for Syria talks

Turkey is planning to send an emissary to Jerusalem in an attempt to find a compromise that would pave the way of peace talks between Syria and Israel, as it played down the high expectations saying there is a long way to go. (UPDATED)

Turkey plans to send envoy to Israel for Syria talks

Israel's Haaretz said on Monday Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan plans to send an emissary to Jerusalem to brief Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on his recent talks with Assad in Damascus. Erdogan will apparently send his foreign policy advisor Ahmet Davutoglu, who is also in charge of talks with Syria and has in the past met with Olmert adviser, Yoram Turbowicz, in Ankara, it reported.

Israeli officials believe Turkey's involvement in the issue will increase. "Erdogan has decided to go all the way on the issue of Israel and Syria," the Israeli government source told Haaretz.

The source added that Israel has not yet received an update on Erdogan's talks in Damascus. "Talks are being conducted to chart out the issue," the source said. "The goal of Turkey's activity is to allow talks to start. That's how we view it. So far, no real negotiations are taking place."

Turkey has been mediating between Syria and Israel to restart peace talks. Israel and Syria's last round of direct talks broke down in 2000 over the details of Israel's proposed withdrawal from the Golan.

Syria has said it received word from Turkey that Israel would be willing to give back the Golan in return for peace with the Arab state. Israel captured the plateau in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed it in 1981 in a move not recognized internationally.

Israel would be open to participating in a senior-level meeting with the Syrians brokered by Turkey to test the waters for renewed peace negotiations, Israeli officials said. Turkey's foreign minister said there's still a lot to achieve before any peace agreement between Israel and Syria.

In Ankara Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan told reporters there's still a lot to achieve before any peace agreement between Israel and Syria. An agreement between the longtime enemies requires "strong political determination" from both sides, he added.

Babacan said Turkey would pass messages between the sides until they are ready to meet. "Talks will continue to take place through Turkey for a while," he said. "When the issue is a little more mature, then I hope that the sides will meet each other," he added.

Turkey is trying to restart low-level talks between the two countries as a prelude to bringing the leaders of Syria and Israel together.

Col Lang:

http://turcopolier.typepad.com/sic_semper_tyrannis/2008/04/turkey-syria-an.html

This is very good news. One can hear the string section warming up for the concert. This must enrage many in the US and Israel. Imagine the effrontery of the locals! Taking things into their own hands like this! Who do they think they are to do this?

The Syrians have been sold to the American people as altogether "black" in the usual Manichean construct. How could Israel, land of milk and honey stain itself by making peace with these human devils? Unthinkable!

Out there in Middle America (something like Middle Earth but with less cachet and more rust), there are going to be a lot of puzzled people if an Israeli-Syrian peace were to actually occur.