Golan Heights to be returned?
Is it true? There is a rumor spreading like wild fire through the Middle East this morning that President Bush is offering to pressure Israel to leave the Golan Heights if Syria stops co-operating with Iran. The rumor says that in a series of secret calls and a hand written letter, well outside of normal diplomatic channels, that Bush has made the offer directly to Syrian Prime Minister, Bashar al-Assad.
This would be the first such concession and must- if accurate - be a tempting offer for Syria who has been shoring up relations with its other neighbors and apparently distancing itself from ties to Tehran. This would be doubly tempting. Firstly, the Golan Heights is a strategic piece of ground with commanding views down into Syria. Syria would like to have this high ground so it could look into Israel rather than the other way around. Secondly, if Israel did cede some ground through a Syrian diplomatic effort it would lift Syria into super-hero standing in the Arab world.
It will be a heavy price for Israel to pay however and Bush must be certain of their co-operation if he has made such an offer. This could be the legacy that President Bush has been looking for. Something to finally overshadow his troubled record on foreign policy. To be known as the President that finally gave back some of the occupied territories and that isolated Iran in the Arab world. Nobody is officially confirming these early reports and the press is scrambling to confirm the rumor. The world will have to watch and wait to see if this rumor solidifies into fact and then converts into action.
