Syria wants to talk with the United States:
“Syria is ready for dialogue with the United States based on respect and mutual interest,” Mekdad told Reuters in an interview. He said the solution to the crisis lies in an immediate ceasefire brokered by international powers, followed by diplomacy.
The United States hasn’t lifted a finger here, but Syria has to be dismayed at the severe ass-kicking that its proxy, Hezbollah, is receiving at the hands of the Israelis.
Syria will posture and bluster a lot about “international powers” and try to get the U.S. to commit to a deal that will benefit nobody but Syria. Nobody’s expecting much to come of this.
But none of that matters. Syria is blinking first.
Israel was never prepared to launch another war with Syria, and the United States isn’t too keen on getting entangled in another military conflict. But Baby Assad is obviously taking Bush’s rhetoric seriously enough to call for dialogue. If this has been a giant bluff, it’s clearly working – at least as far as Syria is concerned.
Iran? I wouldn’t hold my breath.
I wouldn’t exactly say Hizbolah has received an ass kicking. Remember Israel has taken heavy casualties compared to what yhey expected and all Hizbollah must do to win is survive. At this point in my opinion Hizbollah has Israel exactly where they want them.