Snicker if you want. If this is true, it tells me that Bush is confident enough of victory to start Phase II of the Middle Eastern Solution. Within five or six months, maybe less, we should start hearing of a prominent figure "in exile" who opposes Assad. If they're going for the all out war/replacement scenario that is. I suspect the goal will be more modest, but effective, nonetheless.
The plan will be to neutralize Syria by using Jordan (while holding the Israelis as the backup threat). The Kurds in the northeast will be "encouraged" to revolt, while their Iraqi bretheren cross the border to help them. (Turnabout is fair play!) An all out invasion may not be in the game plan. It may be weakening Assad enough to let someone else take over who will deal with the new reality of Team America (F*** YEAH!), and at a minimum, stick to consolidating his internal power, if not start outright reform.
Then with Syrian support of the terrorists in Iraq taken away, they've got no legs left but Saudi money and Iranian support. Give the Israelis some help and let them deal with Iran's weapons processing facilities the same way they dealt with Osirik.
That will buy a couple more years, while we make faces at Kim Jong Ill. Park five or six carriers off the coast of Taiwan and make pointed suggestions to both parties about resolving their dispute once and for all--as one China. What, you thought Powell was talking out his arse the other day? That was diplospeak for tossing chips on the table and telling the Chinese to ante up! And the Taiwanese know it too, which is why they're reacting so strongly.
We force Taiwan to bend its neck to China, but surrender only a minimum of autonomy. Something like China appoints the President from now on, but he has no real power, and a certain amount of tax revenue goes to China. Taiwan acknowledges it is part of China and reduces all of its embassies to some kind of "special legation" status. Militaries stay seperate, but one is now called the "Taiwanese Provincial Self-Defense Force." We stop selling advanced weapons to Taiwan.
Now we have that headache permanently solved, but at the same time, we're going "Oh, by the way China....mind solving that little problem in Korea for us?" And we sign nothing until they do.
Now that's out of the way and we can turn back to Iran's mullahs and the Saudi billionares who support the Wahabbists...
Taiwan is the only real china. We can't abandon it to the communists.
The Jordanians have the historical claim on protecting Mecca and Medina as well.