Israel and Syria diplomacy
Reader comment on item: Israel and Syria going to war?

Submitted by j (United States), Jun 7, 2007 at 10:14

There is no issue with both Israel and Damascus wanting to prevent war but preparing for attack. The two countries do not trust one another, no big surprise there. Both have suffered shots in the worldwide arena of "diplomacy" , Israel for the Lebanon War and Syria for the murder of Rafiq al-Hariri among other Syrian activities that have amounted to behind the scenes orchestration of, financing of or assistance with any range of warlike actions.

It's time for countries to give less emphasis to diplomatic double-speak and to specifically and effectively communicate their views. This is the lesson to be learned from the Palestinians, not known for "diplomatic" skills. With so much rhetoric around, the art of writing the persuasive essay has trumped the art of achieving mutual goals based on give and take that is clearly defined, which is what diplomacy is supposed to be about.

Nice words have not made a nice world, from George Bush's failed War on Terror to the new "democratic" Iraq, it's time for diplomacy to put itself back into the arena of the real world. Syria is not Israel's friend. If both countries can develop a plan to further their own interests by agreeing on certain actions, great, if not, then Israel needs to be prepared to be attacked by countries that are not its friend.

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