I am not expecting an immediate reponse by any means, and i apologize b/c i know i've left that impression. What i am concerned about is the political will of the current Israeli govt. to conduct this war. And i agree that hitting Syria first isn't the best idea for all the reasons you mention. But Syria will get the message if a serious invasion of south lebanon (they need to secure the north side of the Litani river and trap those Hizbullah bastards in) and the bekka valley takes place. But an operation like that will require protection of the western flank (ie Syria) and it would be prudent militarily to take out Syrian SAM sites which could threaten air superiority over the bekka and should maybe hit an airbase or two to prevent any Syrian AF intervention (on second thought let them get airborne for another bekka valley turkey shoot). Olmert has got a lot to prove and if he doesn't handle this crisis well he will find himself out of a job
I think Syria already has got the message. Yesterday afternoon/evening when Israel bombed the crossing between Lebanon and Syria, Syria was very quick to tell the world that the attack had NOT taken place on Syrian territory.
Reading between the lines, it seems to say we don't want anything to do with this. Probably at the moment this is a Hezbollah/Hamas/Iran affair. When/if Israel directs heavy attacks on the Bekaa valley things may change, but at the moment it looks like the Syrians want to stay well outside this conflict.
All indications are that Israeli artillery shelling has really stepped up at the border in the past few hours, possibly setting the stage for a ground invasion of South Lebanon. The recent attack on Haifa might have sped up the timetable.
He's doing okay so far, I'd say.