busy day. i haven't had time to post even though i wanted to discuss the secret israeli-syrian framework for an agreement to settle the golan issue reported today in haaretz. the proposed map is here, the full text of the alleged agreement is here, the background story is here, the timeline for the talks is here, and, of course, the official denials are here. the talks apparently ended despite this tentative agreement when syria wanted to make the negotiations official and israel balked.
there's a couple of really fascinating angles to this and i wish i had more time to get into them. like how the timeline indicates that the talks took place in august, during the israeli attack on lebanon when syria was siding with hezbollah. the same timeline also indicates that the talks started while sharon was still prime minister and the article notes that the talks took place "with the knowledge of senior officials in the government of former prime minister Ariel Sharon."
there's also the whole issue of how this thing leaked. there's a lot of details in the article and accompanying documents, which means it was probably an insider who leaked it. what was his/her agenda? was the leak intended to make the deal more likely or less? (i.e. was it supposed to raise public hopes or embarrass the people who took part).
there's the issue of plausibility. how likely is it that the plan described would actually be followed by both parties if it had been finalized?
and finally, there's the question of what it would mean for the wider middle east if it did ever happen. if syria and israel actually did reach some kind of peace agreement, would that change the bush administration's stance against syria? would the administration support the framework or try to undermine it?
any of the above issues itself could be a long discussion, one which i really don't have time for now. of course if you're in the philadelphia area, you can always meet me at drinking liberally tonight to discuss it the old fashioned pre-blogging way.
