Posted on 01/15/2007 8:27:02 PM PST by TyroneSlothrop
As reported by Haaretz and spotted first by LGF: Haaretz is reporting a historic agreement between Israel and Syria.
(Excerpt) Read more at haaretz.com ...
Hey, there's always those Iraqi WMDs Syria's holding for the arab brotherhood. Perhaps we/Israel said 'you can turn 'em over or we'll kablooey them, however you wish'.
You may wanna start looking Up if it is.....if you know what I mean! ;)
All those American flags on the Iranian border?
Maybe the Syrians are starting to think seriously.
It might be that Assad has "seen the light" or at least felt the heat and doesn't want to be taken down like Iran will be.
Any agreement has to have something to have language secret or otherwise about Hezbollah.
Syria distancing itself from Iran certainly makes sense, but ending all support for two of the region's most influential terrorist orgs seems a bit far-fetched.
Maybe James Baker...another ISG plan...LOL
This may be the Boy President's chance to get the Golan back.
The Iranians can't do that for him, only we and the Izzies can.
If Bush, Condi, and Olmert can deliver the Syrians, plus a guarantee of Lebanese neutrality, this effectively flips the entire strategic situation in the Arab world and isolates the Persians. Larijani's strategy will be scotched.
The bride price, of course, is a slow strangulation of the Hariri investigation. Nasrallah would be forgiven for his war and become a very powerful man in ME politics and in Lebanon itself. Bush and Condi's reputations would skyrocket overnight. I can see why there has been no activity.
Hamas would end up having to play the spoiler-stooge for Iranian interests or play ball.
Be Seeing You,
Chris
Does the agreement last for seven years? Just asking.
This could be really, really, beautiful and the keystone of the whole arab unity collapse.
This story is an interesting example of Free Republic's alertness level [and LGF too]. This very important story has been up on here for almost 1/2 hour, on LGF for 50 minutes, and on Haaretz in English for well over an hour - perhaps two hours. Yet it is still not being reported by CNN, Jpost, Drudge, Google News, Memeorandum, or anywhere else that I've checked.
Free Republic [and LGF] rule!
Well, my first reaction is that this is all nonsense. My second, somewhat more considered reaction, is that backstabbing your "allies" is a time-honored tradition in that part of the world. Maybe the Sunni Syrians have decided to stick a little knife into their "allies," the Shiite Iranians.
Hell, I don't know . . . anything's possible, I guess. Even something that would be good, although it would go against the entire flow of events recently.
This could be pretty huge.
Getting the Golan back is #1 for Asad. His father never did it, he couldn't do it. If Bashar can get it back, he cements his rule and becomes an instant hero of Syria.
However, the whole "park" thing doesn't quite fit. I have trouble seeing Asad agreeing to getting back the Golan then turning around and making it into a park for Israelis. I would think that once Syria gets it back, they'd want it for themselves and to still allow the Jews to come and picnic there would seem to be an indignity I would think the Syrians would want to avoid.
Tossing out Hamas and cutting off Hezbollah also seems to be a high order.
But who knows? Syria is weak. Asad has to know that if he sticks with his current posture it's nothing but more of the same and another 40 years of isolation until he dies. Without getting back the Golan.
A deal with Syria would also involve Lebanon and most likely a return of Shebba Frams. Although, once Israel goves back the Golan, it doesn't really make any sense to be haggling over Shebba Farms.
An interesting idea is that Syria is the master of the political assassination. They did it with Gemayel in 1983, they did it with Hariri and Pierre Gemayel. Perhaps as part of the deal, Nasrallah would be removed from the scene.
This might be a China scenario. Everyone credits Resgan with winning the Cold War, and he did a lot. But prying China from the Soviet orbit and taking advantage of the Sino-Soviet split was a sine qua non of victory. If the USSR and PRC had remained a united front, things would have been very different.
All in all, if true, the future will be very interesting.
More likely that Olmert has "felt the heat" from Condi mouthing the Arabophiles in the USDOS.
Draft 4
August 29, 2004
Preamble
The objective of this effort is to establish normal, peaceful relations between the governments and peoples of Israel and Syria, and to sign a treaty of peace attesting to this achievement. The treaty will resolve the four "pillars" at the core of negotiations: security, water, normalization, and borders. There is be no agreement on any single one of these issues unless and until all of these issues are resolved.
I. Sovereignty
1. Syrian sovereignty, based upon the June 4, 1967 line in the Golan Heights, is acknowledged by Israel. The mutually agreed upon border will be determined by both parties (and guaranteed by the U.S. and the UN)
II. Framework Agreement, Implementation, and the End to the State of Belligerency
A "Framework Agreement" will address the issues of security (including early warning), water, normalization, and borders. Negotiations to reach such an agreement should proceed as expeditiously.
1. The state of belligerency between the parties will cease upon signature of a framework agreement between the parties, and will include the cessation of hostile actions by each party against the other.
2. Application of Syrian sovereignty in the Golan Heights, the establishment of normal, bilateral diplomatic relations, and the implementation of relevant provisions related to water and security will commence as soon as possible after the conclusion of a Framework Agreement but no later than the signing of a treaty of peace.
3. Implementation of the Israeli withdrawal to the mutually agreed border will occur during a period (the exact time frame to be mutually agreed) from signature of the Framework Agreement.
III. Peace Treaty
1. Satisfactory implementation of provisions and obligations established in the Framework Agreement will result in the signing of a peace treaty between the parties.
IV. Security
1. Demilitarized zones will be established in the areas of the Golan Heights that Israeli forces will vacate.
2. No military forces, armaments, weapons systems, or military infrastructure will be introduced into the demilitarized zones. Only a limited civil police presence will be deployed in the areas.
3. Both parties agree not to fly over demilitarized zones without a special arrangement.
4. The establishment of an early warning system includes a ground station on Mt. Hermon/Jabal as-Sheikh operated by the United States.
5. A monitoring and inspection and verification mechanism will be established to monitor and supervise the security agreements.
6. Direct liaison between the parties will be established in order to: Create a direct, real time communication capability on security issues in order to minimize friction along the international border; Help to prevent errors and misunderstandings between the parties.
7. Zones of reduced military forces will be established in Israel west of the international border with Syria and in Syria east of the Golan Heights. The respective depth of these zones (as measured in kilometers) between Israel and Syria will be according to a ratio of 1:4.
8. The Parties will cooperate in fighting local and international terrorism of all kinds.
9. The Parties will work together for a stable and safe Middle East, including the solution of regional problems related to the Palestinians, Lebanese, and Iran.
V. Water
1. Israel will control the use and disposition of the water in the Upper Jordan River and Lake Tiberias.
2. Syria will not interrupt or obstruct natural flow of water in either quality or quantity in the Upper Jordan River, its tributaries, and Lake Tiberias.
3. Syrian use of the waters of the upper Jordan River, its tributaries, and Lake Tiberias for residential and fishing purposes is recognized and guaranteed.
VI. Park
1. In order to safeguard the water resources of the Jordan River basin, Syrian territory east of the mutually agreed border will be designated as a Park open to all and administered by Syria. The Park is to be established in the Golan Heights upon completion of the Israeli withdrawal and application of Syrian sovereignty in accordance with the treaty of peace. The park will extend from the agreed upon border eastward to a line to be determined by mutual agreement.
2. Park characteristics:
* Park is open for tourism.
* Park will be policed by Syrian park service personnel.
* The park will be free of permanent residents except for conservation and law enforcement personnel.
* No visa will be required for entry into park [from Israeli territory].
* Syrians will issue onsite official entry permit for a nominal fee.
* Visitors wishing to enter other Syrian territory east of the Park must have a proper visa and transit Syrian controls on park's eastern perimeter.
* Entry to park is valid for one day during daylight hours.
End
A park? Well dang....what a novel idea! All this time and nobody ever thought about a park. wow
It could be, but I don't think so. This looks like tightening the noose on Iran by further isolating it. An Iran, alone against the last remaining super power with a president that has the balls to act can be very intimidating.
"Peace in our time."
If this secret agreement were happening, then what was the war last summer all about? Surely Hezbollah would not have launched an attack without Syria's blessing.
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